My Calculus Romance
by memetoextreme
Summary: Marceline Abadeer is just a normal girl who goes to a normal school with normal problems, right? Wrong. Everything around her is so wonderfully or horribly dysfunctional, leaving her caught in the middle of her worst dilemmas. Especially when Teen-Heart-Throb Marshall Lee Pierce gets her calculus class. (Marcelee) (Rated T for some language) (INSPIRED BY kyla123's STORIES)
1. Second Month of High School

Yo. So this is my first Adventure Time fic and uhh I'm super nervous. Yeah you can write your little flames all you want, but all they'll do is be absorbed by the Flame Kingdom, so HA. Anyways, the characters' names are mostly created by me (some of them I stole from kyla123's _The Genius and the Delinquents_ just go cHECK IT OUT IT'S AMAZEBALLS!) and you'll gradually see them. Yup, uh and this is mostly Marcelee, but will feature Finona c: Oh, and yes, this was GREATLY INSPIRED by all of kyla123's fics.

AnY wAy, On To ThE FaNfIcTiOn!

* * *

_**Marceline's POV**_

I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock, and instantly groaned. I hated school. All of those asshole students, and teachers, and, ugh, _work. _Actually, I was a pretty good student–one of the best, really. I made nice with all the teachers, was kind to all of the outcast students, and got some pretty great grades. That didn't mean others were nice to me, though.

Even though I was utterly pissed about going to school, I knew my dad would kill me if he realized I skipped it (that is, if he even noticed at all), so I reluctantly got up, made my bed to the best of my ability, and showered. I changed into a ripped up black singlet, old oversized gray hoodie, jeans, and a pair of red lace up boots. I grabbed my messenger bag, and after a quick breakfast of jam and toast, I went to sit down on my front steps, waiting for my friends to pick me up. It was probably around 7:20, so I pulled out my phone to play a few games and write a couple more lines of lyrics for my newest song. Within a few minutes, I could see Fiona's blue car pulling up. Cake wasn't there, so I took shotgun.

"Hey, Marcy!" Fionna greeted.  
"Hi, Fi," I said, "Where's your fake sister?"

She rolled her eyes at that. I always teased her about being adopted (along with being a "dumb blonde," and curvy), but she said it never bothered her. And in turn, she would make fun of my constant need for food, thigh gap (which I was pretty self-conscious of. It's funny how the girls with one don't want it, and the ones who don't have it want one. Either way, though, the only thing a thigh gap proves is having a wide pelvis. All of those girls need to stop!), and being rich/kinda famous because of my last name. It was a fun game we played.

"She's sick. I think she's got the stomach flu; she's throwing up and stuff."

I frowned. Cake didn't come to school on Thursday or Friday, and today was Monday. So she's been sick for… five days?

"Everything all right?" I asked. Concern was probably oozing from my tone of voice.  
Fionna gave me a small smile, "She'll survive."  
I nodded, "I'm gonna text Lady that we'll be there soon."  
"Ooh, tell her that your thigh gap has gotten so big you can fit the Grand Canyon in it!"  
"You are such a bitch," I said. I was, in a way, my way of saying I love her.  
She chuckled, "Love you, too, Marcy."

I looked over my text to Lady: **Hey Lady, we'll be there in a few minutes–be ready (unlike all the other weeks :P) **I smiled at the fact that she _never_ got up on time. Even if it was something incredibly important, she would keep pressing snooze until the last possible minute.

I sent the text, just as Fionna spoke, "On the bright side of things, Queen Bitch won't be at school today."

We grinned in synch. Queen Bitch was what we liked to call our _great_ friend Ashley King.

"You know why?" I asked.  
"I think Finn pushed her down some stairs, actually…"

I almost choked on my on saliva laughing. Finn Hughman, one of the four hottest guys in school, pushed Ashley King, one of the most "perfect," bratty, bitchy girls, down a flight of stairs? It seemed too good to be true.

"That…" I said, "I think just made my day."  
"Right?" Fi agreed, "Oh, and your _boyfriend _just happens to now have 4th period with you."  
I groaned, "Stop calling him that, Fi! I've never even talked to the guy!"  
"That doesn't mean you're not perfect for each other!"  
"_You've_ never even talked to him!" I protested.  
She scoffed, "I have my ways, and I know, from what I know of him, that you two belong together!"  
I groaned again, sinking back into my seat, "Oh yeah? What do you know about him?"  
"I know that he's a nerd about certain books, has an amazing voice, is a total badass, absolutely love–"  
"And he's off-limits."  
Fionna rolled her eyes, "Just because the three most evil witches in the school like him, doesn't mean you can't marry him."

I sighed and told her she passed Lady's house.

We were talking about none other than Marshall Lee Pierce, Teen Heart-Throb, Greatest Musician, King of Badass. I, of course, didn't have any kind of feelings towards him whatsoever. I didn't even swoon or anything like the other girls did when he walked by! But still, that didn't stop Fionna, Cake, and Lady from "shipping" us. Quite frankly it irritated the crap out of me. But then, I realize Fionna had said 4th period, which was G12 Calculus (yeah, yeah, I know–I'm a junior. I'm just… maybe…. A little smart… Kinda…. Really…. A lot…). My mouth dropped. He had G12 Calculus? I never took him as a, well, smart guy.

Lady's sweet voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"Hey guys!" she said as she stepped into the car, "Whoa, why is Marcy so pissed?"  
"Oh, you know," Fionna replied, "We're just talking about the love of her life."  
Even though I couldn't see her, I could feel her roll her eyes and smile, "Oh Glob help us."

Thankfully, though, Lady changed the subject to a much more preferable one (talking about Maja Mahariel's craziness) until we got to school. I stepped out of the car, taking in everything around me. First I noticed the big **_Pendleton Ward High School_** sign where the Triplets (Sabrina, Gina, and Katrina Princesse) talking with the Twins (Clarence and Clarisse Ghost) along with the Triplers (Sal, Gil, and Kel Princeton). Ash Psyche and his gang of assholes were hanging out on the steps while eying us in a very… _uncomfortable_ way. Somewhere around the gates were all of the "perfect" douche bag students, without their leader Ashley (Bonnibel Bubblegum, Bubba Gumball, Lily Simran Prices, Leon Sheldon Preiss, Summer Sera Faye, Winter Willow Faye, Maja Mahariel, Aiden Aaron Niles, and Elliot Evan Niles).

A scowl appeared on my face. Summer and Winter were really sweet, and so were Aiden and Elliot. I actually had their phone numbers and texted them regularly. It always astonishes me when I see them with their mean friends. But they were sort of pushovers, so it doesn't really shock me that they're with pushers. Bubba was nice, too. He was a little dorky, and really awkward, but he was still nice. I had heard some rumors, though, that he had a crush on me and hated Marshall Lee (I tried to brush them off). Lily and Leon were just plain mean. They were spoiled, cocky, and flat out rude. They were really annoying, especially when I'm trying to get to my next class and see them getting their fill of PDA. Bonnie and I used to be friends, actually. But it was a long time ago – back when we were in elementary/primary school. We were sort of best friends, but Ashley… turned her against me, in a way. Now she was a bitch. Not quite Queen Bitch status, but more like Second Bitch in Command. Either way it bothered me to see her so cold and unlike her old self.

Then I saw Marshall Lee Pierce, Finn Hughman, Jake Hughman, and Lordo Monochromicorn, AKA: The Vampire Knights. I didn't freak out or anything, like most girls do, but Fi and Lady did. Fionna had the biggest crush on Finn, but she thought we didn't know. Lady was head over heels for Jake, and I'm pretty sure by the way he stares at her during lunch that he likes her back. Of course, if Cake were here, she'd be drooling over Lordo.

I couldn't blame them, though. They were really attractive. Lordo had ink black hair, gray eyes, and probably the most charismatic guy to ever exist. Jake was really funny, had messy brown hair, and these large dopey brown eyes (kind of contrasting Lady's kaleidoscope ones). Finn was, for sure, the definition of the word "hero." He liked to help people, had thick golden blonde hair, and eyes as blue as Fionna's. Then there came Marshall. He was, well, I didn't know much about him except that guys are afraid of him, and girls will murder to have him. He was totally hot, though. He had shaggy jet black hair, red eyes like mine, probably as equally as pale as me (I cannot get a tan for the life of me), and pretty much the greatest body known to Aaa.

I instantly blushed.

_Don't think like that, Marcy. You don't even know him!_ I told myself.  
**_But you want to__…_** A small voice told me.  
_Nope.  
**Come on. I know you're sick of being a loner.**  
I'm not a loner. I'm friends with all the outcasts! I'm friends with the Triplets, Twins, and Triplers! Plus Fi, Cake, Lady, Summer, Winter, Aiden, and Elliot!  
**Yet you know you want to make more friends…  
**No. I don't/_

I sighed, "Let's get to class, guys."

And so began my second month of 11th grade.

* * *

Aaaaaaaannnnnd that is a wrap! I hope you guys liked it!

Oh, and Summer is Flame Princess, Winter is Snow Princess, Aiden is Fire Prince, Elliot is Ice Prince, Sabrina is Skeleton Princess, Katrina is Warrior/Ghost Princess, Gina is Raggedy Princess and the same with their male counterparts.

I love you and I hope you have a wonderful, beautiful day because you just deserve it so much. truly, you do. You deserve all the happiness in the world and I hope you get it. You're just so amazing. Everything about you makes me smile and brings warm feelings to my heart. Oh, Gob-Globbit, I love you so much! Even if you're having a bad day, know that some dorky fangirl in San Francisco cares about you and what happens to you. I love you. I love you.

m'kay I'm done. see ya next time!

Oh, and reviews give me my powers :3


	2. When Things Were Going Well

Hiya. So this chapter will delve into some of the characters a bit more and how Marcy views them c: OH YEAH AND SORRY ABOUT SPELLING FIONNA WITH ONE 'N' IT WAS AUTOCORRECT IMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRYIMSORRY. I'm gonna go back and fix it, I promos. I MEAN PROMISE! SEE THAT FREAKIN AUTOCORRECT IS GOING TO BE THE GLOBDAMN DEATH OF ME!AKFLIHVLAHBU;ULHFHAAHAHHAHHAHAHAGAGHAHAGHAHGAHAG IT'S SO ANNOYING!

Anyway.

Honestly I'm not loving my ideas for this very much, either because they are total rip-offs from other fanfics, or because they don't flow well. Shemurr. If anyone has any ideas for this I'd love to hear them in a pm or review :P go for it. I'm approachable.

All right, enough of that. ON TO THE STORY.

* * *

**_Marceline's POV_**

I looked down the hall, trying to make it to first period, History. Fionna and Lady had already gone to their classes of Math and English. I frowned slightly when I got to the door. Cake had this class with me. She always made it better. Ever since I was younger, I hated History, mostly because 90% of it consisted of the Abadeers "contributing something to society." It was aggravatingly annoying.

"Hey, Betty," I said as I walked in.  
She looked up at me from her desk and smiled, "Hello, Marceline. How was your weekend?"  
I shrugged, "Nothing to report."

Looking around the classroom, I shifted on my feet uncomfortably. She knew me very well, and she also knew I was close with Cake, and that said girl was absent. She was going to ask about her, and I wasn't okay with that. After my mom's death, dad's ignorance of me, and the School Assholes trying to tear me apart, I didn't like being in the class without another student who I was comfortable with. I was kind of a social anxiety thing. I found it hard to speak with new people, but once I felt all right with them, I was back to my same weird humorous self. It was just another thing that was messed about me.

"Something wrong?"  
I shook my head, perhaps a little too quickly.  
"Well, you can always talk to me if you need to."

I nodded because it was true. Betty was very sweet (and one of those cool teachers that let you call them by their first name), and had even invited me to her and Simon's – well, Mr. Petrikov – wedding. Since I knew Simon from when I was younger, I was one of the first to find out about their relationship. It made me feel good to see him smiling so much. After I met Betty, we hit it off. I was able to open up to her and vice versa. She was a good teacher, and amazing friend. I could go to her just like I went to Fi, Cake, and Lady. She was very comforting.

"Please, take your seat." she asked, gesturing towards the desks.

I did as she told, and watched as other students began to file into the room. Most of them I recognized as some of the "outcasts." I tried to be as nice to them as possible when I started middle school, and after a while, I was able to form some sort of friendship with them. But we weren't close enough to talk to each other regularly (but we could sit next to each other and talk whenever we wanted). We really just had a silent respect for each other. Lots of them said that they admired me greatly (which definitely helped my self esteem) and that I "turned the weak into soldiers." I had never know what to say to that. I mean, yeah, I helped them up when they fell, but I didn't think that simple acts of kindness could affect people so much.

It most likely helped them like that because the School Assholes shot them down, like they always did. A guy would come up to Bonnie and tell her that he genuinely liked her and she'd scoff, laugh, and walk away. A girl would give one of them a heartfelt compliment and they's make fun of her for not being as perfect as them. A person _wouldn't be doing anything_ and they still just decided to make their life a living hell. I understood how it felt, I guess, and that's why I felt the need to comfort them so much.

That and I was a pansy when it came to empathy. I just felt too bad for people all too often. Lady said that I was far too empathetic for my own good. But Lady always said things like that. She called me the Fallen-Angel Vampire Queen. She said it was because I could either be incredibly sweet and caring one moment, then a terrifying demon the next (and the fact that I was known as the Vampire Queen everywhere).

I saw Lordo walk in and take his usual seat next to me. He stared at me, then the seat in front of me, then back to me. It took me a moment to realize he was looking for Cake. She usually sat in front of me. Then Jake came in to sit behind him.

"Hey Marceline?" I heard him ask.  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you know where Cake is?" I couldn't help but smile at the concern lacing his voice. "You're smiling. Uh, why are you smiling?"  
"Oh, nothing," I said.  
He piped up, "So where is she?"  
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I heard Jake tease.  
Lordo blushed, "Shut up…"  
Jake laughed, "You're in love!"  
Now Lordo looked mad, "Oh yeah? Well, I saw you staring at Lady's stomach just 4 minutes ago! You were totally checking her out!"

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. It was windy today, and Lady was wearing a flowy, loose rainbow camisole. Maybe the wind pushed it up a bit? Plus, Lady had a long torso and toned stomach which made a lot of her shirts not fit adequately. So Jake was actually… Oh my Glob. It made me cringe.

Jake and Lordo had started arguing, so I decided to tune out. I looked out the window for a bit before I started to get restless. I looked at the clock. _Only 1 more minute__…_ I thought. I just wanted to get the stupid class over with.

"MARCELINE!" The boys' voices pulled me from my thoughts.

I turned to them, "Huh?"  
"Marcy," Jake started. I was actually taken aback at the fact he used my nickname, "tell Lordo that he's being a stubborn di–"  
"Language!" Betty called.  
Jake grumbled, "Fine. Tell him he's being a _jerk_ and he needs to stop!"  
Lordo snorted, "You started it!"

I sighed, and a small smiled danced its way across my lips. I found it sweet and utterly adorable that they were being so stubborn and defensive over admitting to a crush.

Then the bell rang, signaling the start of class.

* * *

As I was walking towards my locker, I ran into someone, or maybe two people. They both let out small girlish cries. It didn't surprise me – there were always so many students in the hallways. I looked up to see tight ash blonde curls and a pair of ice green eyes staring at me. I looked to the left and saw an identical girl with loose wavy curls and the same huge piercing eyes looking at me.

"Hey Winter, Summer." I said, "Sorry for running into you."  
Summer smiled, "It's all right."  
"We were just coming by to say hello," Winter said.  
"And to tell you Ashley won't be here today," Summer continued.  
"At least before Maja notices," Winter said, completing their weird twin sentence.  
"Oh," I said, "Yeah, I heard."  
"Good. We just wanted to give you a heads up." Winter said.  
Summer agreed, "Don't want you worrying about running into her."

I smiled. They were very considerate of others.

"Thanks, guys."  
"Oh, and I think Bonnie is especially mad at you today." Summer said.  
I frowned, "Why?"  
They shrugged in synch and, in unison, "Don't know."  
"Just," Winter started, "Be careful."  
I smiled again, "You too. Don't want Princess Bitch to get rid of my favorite perfect twins."

"Hey!" I heard two voices say at once. I turned to see Aiden and Elliot.  
"That's not fair!" Aiden said.  
I chuckled, "What isn't fair?"  
"They're girls!" Elliot protested, "You like them more because they're girls."

I rolled my eyes, reaching into my locker and putting away my books.

"You know I didn't mean it," I joked.  
"You better…" Aiden mumbled.  
I checked the time, "Hey, I gotta get to class, but I'll text you guys later."  
"Kay," the four of them said together, which sent shivers down my spine.

And with that we all walked our separate ways before any of their "friends" found us. They'd surely kill them if they found our that the two sets of twins were even glancing at me.

* * *

"Hey, Queen," Katrina greeted in the locker room. She and most of our other friends liked to use my title of Vampire Queen every so often.

I sighed, "Hey, Kat."  
"Looking forward to today's hour of torture?"  
"Ecstatic." I replied sarcastically.

Gym was always fun. The teacher, Billy Strong (he liked us to just call him Billy), was really chill, the Katrina was there, and the activities were very creative. There was just one problem; she shared the class with Lily Simran Prices, Maja, Ashley, and Bubba. Because I just _had_ to get popular kids in my class didn't I? Of course I did.

Lily was always mean and cracking jokes that hit us right in the self esteem, Maja and Ashley were always just being bitches, and Bubba was so awkward. Overall, it was an uncomfortable experience.

"At least Ashley won't be here." Katrina said.  
I agreed, "I'm really happy she got pushed down those stairs."  
Katrina nodded, "I won't say she deserved it," I gave her an are-you-serious look, "but it doesn't change the fact that she's a big stupid little…"

I smirked as we started to get changed. Katrina never swore. Neither did her sisters, the Triplers, or the twins from Ashley's gang. Clarence and Clarisse did though, and every time they said something, they'd get disapproving looks from Katrina or Kel.

"Let's just get it over with," I said as we stepped out to the courtyard.

We stood by a basketball hoop, because Billy said that's what we'd do after we ran our laps. As we waited for the other students to finish getting changed, we talked about whatever came up. She talked about Gina getting a haircut that made her looked horribly raggedy, Sabrina buying a pair of jeans that made her look like a skeleton, and a dream Katrina had about her being a warrior who died and returned as a ghost. I noticed she talked about Clarence a lot, too. It was so obvious that she liked him and he liked her, but they had to be the densest people in Aaa! Neither of them noticed it.

I was laughing along with her about a story she was telling when I saw a blur of color in the corner of my eye. Through my peripheral vision I could see two people standing there, both female. _Oh no, please,_ I thought, _Not today._

"Well, if it isn't Marceline Abadeer."

* * *

CLIFFHANGER! Well, not really :/ Yeap, sorry for the lack of marcelee in this chappie, but there will be more next one i promise.

Ew, I had school because it's Tuesday here and we're talking about college/university. Ewewew. Ew. Responsibility is horrifying. lol jk I'm actually a little excited :) But really, does anyone else wish they were like 5 forever so you could just live in ignorant bliss and have other people feed you, never go to school because when you fake sickness it works, and just sleep all the time? No? Just me?  
okay.

Anyways, thanks for reading! And whoever the hell you are and wherever you are, if you're reading this, know that I love you. I love you to pieces. You're so beautiful inside and out and even your flaws are perfect, if that even makes sense. You are a walking contradiction and that's amazing. You're dreams break the boundaries of your fears, and thats is so admirable and inspiring. I love you so, so much.

Have a beautiful, lovely, fantastic day! 3


	3. Well, Shit

so sososos so so sorry guys! lots of stuff has come up within the last few months. My grandpa died, my role model died, my son turned a year old, and **_tons_** of school-related drama and college crap. I won't bore you with my problems, though! Instead I'll bore you with Marcy's problems! oh and sorry this is pretty short.

Sooooo you're FINALLY GONNA SEE MARSHALL AHHHH c: super excited.

* * *

_**Marshall Lee's POV**_

"Oh. My Glob, Finn. _Shut up._" I said as we drove to school.  
"Whaaaattt? I'm just stating facts." came his reply.

At the stoplight, I banged my head against the drivers wheel.

"This is Marceline Raelene Abadeer we're talking about here." I said.  
I heard Lordo snort and mutter, "Marceline Pierce…"  
"LORDO! I do not like her and if you say that I do one more time, I will backhand you, I swear!"

I sighed. Why did they always have to "ship" me with her? I've never spoken with her in my entire life. I mean, sure she was pretty– hell, she was gorgeous. And smart. And funny. ImeanfromwhatI'veseenI'veneverspiedonheroranythingnopeI'mnotacreep. But she was_ Marceline Abadeer_, daughter of Hudson Abadeer (who was basically the king of the world), the Vampire Queen, Richest yet Most Modest Girl in the World, Lyrical Genius, Princess of Fashion, and apparently the nicest, most angelic soul who would still beat the shit out of you if you hurt her. Everyone liked her. There used to be posters all around the school that said, "Glob Save the Vampire Queen" which was one of her albums.

So basically, if she did intrigue me (whichI'mnotsayingshedoes), she'd still be way out of my league.

"Oh? Marsh, we never said you liked her," Finn said, smirking. Well, shit.  
"Why are you being so defensive, Pierce?" he continued.  
"I don't like being accused of something I don't do." I said.  
Jake spoke up, "C'mon guys, give him a break. It's obvious he doesn't like her."

The quizzical looks Lordo and Finn gave him were comical.

"Thank you!" I said, completely buying the act that Jake was putting on.  
"He doesn't like her because he's in love with her!"

Glob damn it.

* * *

By the time we got to school, their laughs had died down immeasurably, and I was really grateful.

I stepped out of my car, listening to what my idiotic friends were talking about.

"I'm telling you, man, it was awesome!" Finn said. The smile on his face was so happy, it could probably cure cancer.  
"Wish I could've been there." Lordo sighed.  
Jake nodded, "She got what she deserved."

I hated to admit it, but Jake was right. Ashley was a bitch. Finn pushing her down the stairs was the right move, as hilarious as it was. Nearby, we could see her 'perfect' friends at the steps of the school. LSP was holding out her phone so it could see their whole group. At first, I thought they were taking a selfie, and was going to laugh, but then I heard "Hi, Ashley! Oh, you look great!" and rolled my eyes. Did they really have to FaceTime her? Couldn't they just, I don't know, come _visit_ her? I scoffed. Morons.

Looking around, I spotted Marceline, Fionna, and Lady getting out of their car. Marceline looked pretty irritated, and I had to note that, well, she looks pretty adorable when she's irritated. I looked over to Finn, who was nonchalantly checking out Fionna. Said girl was wearing her usual clothes: a t-shirt, denim skirt, thigh-high socks, black shoes, but let's just say that Finn was obviously noting her *ahem*ahem* assets. Jake was doing the same to Lady, whose camisole was accidentally riding up, revealing her stomach. I turned away, of course. Unlike most guys, we have a respect for females and their bodies. But maybe today Jake lost a little bit of his dignity as he continued staring at her. Lordo was looking a bit panicky, most likely because Cake wasn't there.

I was smiling at their reactions to the girls until I noticed #1 Asshole, Ash, and his Dick-Crew eyeing them in a fashion that was. Not. Cool. Nope, not cool at all.

"Guys," I said, nodding in Dick-Crew's direction.  
Finn's eyes narrowed.  
"What the hell to they think they're doing?" Lordo asked,"Didn't they learn their lesson last time?"  
"evidently not," Jake said, his voice dipping with venom.

You see, we're considered the school badasses (don't worry, we're not vain about it) because years ago, we got into a fight with Ash's gang and won. No one knew what the fight was about and no one asked. As time progressed, we got in more and more fights with anyone who crossed us, including Ash. Rumors were spread, and suddenly BAM! everyone either fears us or is in love with us (AKA: Guys and Girls). It was pretty annoying, but we learned to use that as a shield of sorts, so that no one would find our actual selves – no one would see that we're actually really good kids. One thing, though, was that each of those fights revolved around the one-and-only Marceline. Anytime someone disrespected her or her friends, we hurt them, but not unless they swung first. Are we proud of that? No. But we are proud of being able to protect them, even in the slightest way.

And now, Ash was disrespecting their bodies.

Not. Fucking. Cool.

We waited for Marceline, Fionna, and Lady to walk inside before marching over to the Dick-Crew.

I crossed my arms when we reached them and I smirked in a way that could only be described as devilish.

My friends knew the drill: we talk to them, see if they'll quit it, and if they don't we intimidate them _until_ they quit or until they get fed up and swing. Since this was Dick-Crew, I knew their response would be the latter of the options. But, hey, positivity!

"What do you dipshits want?" he asked.

My smirk was intensified when I chuckled hoarsely.

Yeah, I'll probably enjoy this for once.

* * *

**_Marceline's POV_**

"What do you want, Maja?" I said, scowling and pushing Katrina behind me. I didn't want her to get caught up in whatever drama was about to start.  
"What do I want?" she chuckled, "Revenge."

Well, that wasn't the response I expected.

"Huh?"  
"Oh let's not be coy," she said, "I know what you did to Ashley."

Hah. Right. It made sense now. She thought I pushed Queen Bitch down the stairs. Great.

"That wasn't me." I said. Nice, Marceline, way to stick it to the man.  
"_Right._"  
"I'm telling the truth."  
"You imbecile! Don't cover up!" Lily said.  
"Wow," I said, "Im-be-cile. That's three syllables, LSP. I didn't know your vocabulary skills went that high. What, did it take you all day to piece it together?"  
"UGH!" Lily screamed, "You can't believe her, Maj!"  
"Shut up, Lil. I don't." Maja answered in an annoyed fashion.

That got me upset. Okay, fine, she can be mean to me, but being honestly rude to one of her own friends? What the hell?

"Fine then." I said, wanting them to just go away, "I pushed her. Is that what you want me to say?"  
Maja stepped closer. "No. Instead let's talk about Marshall Lee."

Oh, _come on_.

"We saw how he looked at you this morning."

What?

"And we don't like it."

I rubbed my temples.

"So how about we strike a deal, hmm?"

Glob, no. Nope nopeitynope nope nope. Everyone knew that negotiating with Maja is bad for your health.

"You stay away from Marshall, and we leave your loser friends alone."

By 'loser friends' I knew she meant everyone in the school.

I knew it was a horrible idea, but I did it anyway, "Fine."

She smiled, "Sma-"

"What's going on here?" came Bubba's voice. We turned to see him, looking shy and awkward. He gestured behind him, "Billy wanted me to gather everyone to run, so…"  
"Nothing," Maja said, "we were just leaving."  
LSP gave me one last glare before walking away with them.

Bubba smiled at me and left.

"You idiot!" Kat said, "Why did you do that?"  
I rubbed the back of my neck, "I took one for the team."  
Kat shook her head, "Marcy…"  
"Don't worry," I said.  
"I'm gonna do the opposite of that, Marcy."

* * *

AFalseReality – Thank you so much! ^.^ I was super nervous to post this, and you encouraged me 3

Guest – ughhhhhh I wish I could just be 5 soooooo much! I'm glad I'm not alone hehe

darkbutterfly – Sorry, sweetie, I couldn't understand that :( I appreciate the review though!

Oooooooooo – omfg you were my first reviewer and my heart literally exploded ilysm really I won't forget you c:

okie so I've got a lot of ideas now :) and they involve feels. Lots and lots of feels. Anyway, I hope you liked it! I worked moderately hard on it, so it may not be too good T-T sorry plsplsplspls don't kill me


	4. Scary Grin, Sexy Smirk, Cute Smile

OH HELL YEAH TWO IN A ROW HOWD YOU LIKE THAT? So uh I feltlike uploading again and this happened. It's longer than the last one haha and it jumps from POVs a lot. ugh I was supposed to be doing my homework x.x

* * *

_**Marshall's POV**_

I saw the Abadeer Girl walking into the room. She looked even more adorable than she did in the morning when she was irritated, probably because this time she looked utterly pissed. I watched her as she put her phone away and look up. She muttered a small "shit" before locking eyes with me.

So can I just say how pretty Marceline is? Her thick jet black hair was always in place and the perfect length, her soft lips were always doing something be it talk or smirk or biting down on one in a way that was just so cute, her eyes were such a bright crimson red I think they glowed, and her skin was as white as can be, yet the most beautiful porcelain complexion I've seen, and the best part was that she wasn't vain about it. In fact, I don't believe she even knows how beautiful she is! I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at her – she was just so aesthetically pleasing.

Okayokayokayokayokay I know what you're thinking: _Oh, Marshall's such a creep. Marshall is a stalker. Marshall is so weird for constantly staring at a girl he's never spoken to. _But that's not true! All I want to do is protect her; if she's safe, the school is safe. Not to mention she was just a very interesting person. Besides, if you saw the kindest, sweetest, prettiest, smartest, most generous soul, wouldn't you want to protect them, too? That's Marceline.

She blushed slightly after a few seconds of looking at me, and I realized why. I had been blankly staring, slightly smirking, and playing with a pencil near my mouth. She thought I was checking her out. Dammit. _Nice job, Marsh, you're definitely gonna become her friend that way, _I told myself.

Well, this class was going to be... very long.

* * *

_**Marceline's POV**_

As I walked to Calculus class, I thought about what Maja said. All I had to do was stay away from Marshall, and the underclassmen would be okay. No bullying, no pushing and shoving, and no more freshmen committing suicide because of the 'Perfects.' Because, yeah, that's happened 4 times since they were named popular. And it annoys the hell out of me. They don't even flinch when they're told either! They can live with themselves knowing what they did! Assholes.

I pulled out my phone and finished the song I was working on. It was directed towards Bonnie. But before I could actually review it, I had made it to Calculus class. I knew exactly who was in there.

I stepped in, putting my phone away before scanning the room. There he was in all his badass glory: Marshall Lee Pierce. I cursed under my breath when I realized there was no way out of this. I was late and only one seat was left. Next to him and it was–oh...

Was he... checking me out?

Oh. Oh. Ohhhh shit that's not good. And did he _have _to look so attractive when he did it? Did his hair just _have_ to fall in his eyes like that? Did his faint smirk just _have_ to look so beddable? Well, I know now I'm completely screwed.

I couldn't stop the blush rising to my cheeks because, let's be real, if the hottest, most terrifying guy in your school was checking you out, what would you do? If he were any other guy, I would've punched him, but I knew that with Marshall, it wasn't an option. Reluctantly, I made my way over to the desk, my cheeks still on fire. Ugh, it was probably super noticeable now, too. Oh, the perks of having pale skin!

When I sat down, I couldn't risk shooting a glance at him, to see if I might be murdered by him for just sitting down next to him. But a few minutes into class, I dropped my pencil. We both reached for it at the same time, and I felt his hand brushing against mine. Wow, he's warm. I looked up at him and realized just how close we were. I was really intimidated. My face had never been this close to a boy's before, and definitely not Marshall's. We were so close I could smell a faint scent of strawberries. I was about to apologize for dropping the pencil, and touching him, and flat out looking at him when he did something... surprising. He smiled at me._ Smiled._ I was at a loss for words. How... I don't... He... Whoa. He can go from scary-grin, to sexy-smirk, to fucking-adorable-smile in .3 seconds?

"Sorry," he breathed out. I didn't realized the hand he used to reach for the pencil was holding my own. He used his other hand to get the pencil while I stared slack-jawed, "You, uh, you dropped this."

He chuckled and I could feel his breath.

I barely managed to squeak out a, "Thank you."

Shit. This class was going to be a long one.

* * *

_**Marshall's POV**_

What the hell was I doing? Was I flirting? Was I being creepy? What was happening?

Something, evidently, because Marceline was really flustered the rest of the class, and every time we looked at each other, it got worse. I felt a snicker bubbling up a few times. Have I ever said how cute Marceline is? Because she's super fuckin' cute.

As soon as Calculus ended, she bolted to the door and I saw Fionna waiting for her. Wow. Was it lunch already? Fionna laughed at Marceline's face, then abruptly stopped. She then had a look of awe and she bounced up and down, giggling like a 7 year old who discovered cooties don't exist. She squealed before saying they had to tell Lady and Cake something, to which Marceline rolled her eyes.

I sighed as I reached the door. I spotted Finn across the hall.

"Sup, man," he said, then, "How was your date?"  
I rolled my eyes like Marceline did, "Eventful."  
His blue eyes widened, shocked that I made some sort of 'move.' (What the hell, is this a chess game?), "No way. Did you kiss her?"  
I gave him a disgusted face, "NO! FINN DAMMIT!"  
He shrugged, "Just spit it out."

We walked towards the cafeteria as I told him what went on.

"So you were being weird."  
"I was not!" I protested.  
His eyebrow raised, "You breathed on her."  
I blushed. Crap.  
"All right, Marshy-Warshy, I'll stop teasing. But can I tell you who was in History with me?"  
I looked at him. Did he seriously get... "Fionna?"  
He grinned like he was trying to show off a loose tooth, "Yeah."  
"And?"  
His face fell, "Uh, I... said she looked nice..."  
I needed more to the story.  
"And...?" I asked again.  
"She said thank you..."  
"_...And..?_"  
Silence.  
"Oh, dude."  
Silence.  
I laughed at him, "Finny-Boy, you have no right to tease me."

We had made it to the cafeteria by then. Lordo and Jake were talking at our usual spot. Jake had his head in his hands and Lordo looked exasperated.

"Marshall fucking Lee we need to talk about our dumbass of a friend," Lordo said.

Glob, what happened?

"What did you do?" Finn asked.  
"_I_ didn't do anything, your fake brother did!" Lordo was obviously distressed.  
"Jaaaaaaakkeee?" I asked.  
Jake's voice was quiet,"I may or may have not invited Lady and her friends over our house after we go and visit Cake..."

I was shocked. I didn't know Jake had the guts to talk to Lady, much less invite her, Marceline, and Fionna over!

"How did this happen?" I asked.  
"Lady and I hit it off!" Jake said, shocking me further, "We have a lot of the same music tastes, culture interests, role models–"  
Finn cut him off, "Bro, get to the point."  
"I asked about Cake; she said she was sick and was gonna visit her. She invited me to tag along, and said she wanted Cake to meet me. She thinks I'm nice."

Now_ that's _where the issue lay. We can't risk people seeing our good sides – our funny side, our happy side, our smart side, our _weak_ side. It would ruin us worse than it did five years ago.

I felt a headache approaching.

"Jake. Brother. Why?" Finn asked, "How could you let that happen?"  
"I like her!"  
"We _know_ that!" Lordo said, "We've known that for the past three years!"  
Jake was quiet.  
"Well, we can't say no now." I said. They'd hate us, because they love their friends more than their family, and our goal isn't for people to hate us, especially not those four girls.  
"Why?" Finn asked.  
I explained and Lordo looked even more frustrated.  
"I don't want us hurt again," he said.  
"It won't happen," I reassured, "They're sweet girls."  
"Let's hope to Glob."

* * *

_**Marceline's POV**_

"WHAT?!" Fi and I yelled at the same time. Oh, Gob Globbit, Lady.  
"They're coming to visit Cake, then we're going over their house." she stated matter-of-factly.  
"Have we no say in this?" Fionna asked.  
"No." Lady said, smiling sweetly.

I groaned. Since I was sitting on the lunch table, I had a pretty good overview of the cafeteria. I saw the Vampire Knights sitting a few tables down. Jake looked happy, Lordo looked concerned, Finn looked pissed, and Marshall was again staring blankly. At me. Shit.

"What possessed you to do this, Dy?" I asked.  
She frowned, "Jake is really sweet, and we have so many common interests. He was really concerned about Cake. And when he invited us over, how could I say no?"  
"Did you think about how we, or more importantly, Cake, would feel about your choice? About if we're comfortable with it?"  
"Yes." She said, "Cake likes Lordo, yeah? Fi, you think Finn is attractive, don't hide it. And Marcy, I know you'd do anything to go over your boyfriend's house."

I scowled deeply. If only I had time to tell her what went on during Calculus. The last person I wanted to see at the moment was Marshall.

"Please," Lady pleaded, "Give them a shot."

Fionna looked to me to make a decision.

I sighed and thought about Maja. Lady really wanted this, it was made obvious, and I want her to be happy. But Maja... Maja had clearly stated that I stay away from him... Finally, I came to the conclusion that, yes, we would spend time with the Vampire Knights as long as we don't speak of it and no one sees.

Lady squeaked, "Eep, Marcy! I love you so much!"  
I smiled at her. I always had a weakness to Lady, "I know you do, Dy."  
Fionna looked worried, "We need to have a plan then. Like tell Cake, and prep for something to go down."  
I turned to her, "Speak."  
"It's just that they're the toughest guys in school, and Ash is always talking about them being assholes."  
"Yeah, well, that's Ash for you."  
She rolled her eyes, "What I'm saying is that they _could _be totally sweet normal boys who put on the badass-ery as a facade, but they could be exactly what they appear to be: badasses who will murder us if we say the wrong thing."  
"Let's hope to Glob it's not the latter."

* * *

_**Marshall's POV**_

The rest of the school day passed as a blur to me. All I could think about was Marceline and her friends and how we could royally screw everything up by saying the wrong thing around them. Anxiety is a bitch.

Jake said we'd meet them at the Fionna and Cake's house (Lady had given him the address), so as soon as school ended, we headed over. Jake was bouncing up and down in a happy fashion the whole ride over while the rest of us were internally freaking out, going over tons of scenarios where things go wrong.

At least, that's what I was thinking.

Fionna and Cake's house was big, blue, and, thankfully, not far from ours (yes, Finn, Jake, Lordo, and I live together). I saw Lordo mocking a prayer before I rang the doorbell. Lady answered it.

"Hi!" she said happily. In fact, it was almost too happy.  
"Hey, Lady!" Jake greeted.  
"Want to come in?"

We entered and was instantly hit with the smell of soup. I looked past a wall to see Fionna hovering over a pot, which was most likely the soup for Cake. Marceline was next to her with a hand on her hip, apparently talking about something serious. It was kind of strange; her hair was wet and she was wearing a pink robe that was obviously not hers. I tried to ignore the fact that my heart skipped a beat out of nervousness when I saw her.

There was silence, and Lady started stroking her light blond hair out of shyness.

"So... how is she?" Finn asked, trying to eliminate the awkwardness.  
Lady frowned, "She's been throwing up all day, but her temperature has gone down. Come on, she's eager to see you guys."  
"She is?" Lordo asked, confused.  
Lady smirked evilly and led us to the room that must've been Cake's.

"Let me go in first," she said, stepping into the room and slightly closing it behind her.

We sat in the hallway awkwardly looking around.

"Careful when you go in there," came a sweet voice.  
I turned and saw Marceline with her arms crossed and a grin plastered to her face.  
"Huh?" I asked (like an idiot).  
She gestured to her attire, "She threw up on me."  
"That's..." Finn began, "not good."  
She giggled, "No, genius, it's not."  
Lordo pointed at her robe, "Cake's?"  
"Yeah. I don't have a change of clothes here and their's don't fit me. Besides, when we hang out, it's usually at my house, so they just bring their clothes over."  
I saw the tag on the back of her robe, "Why does it say 'Marceline's Closet'?"  
She blushed, "Everything we wear is from my store."  
"You have a _store_?" Jake asked incredulously.  
Her blush intensified, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm an Abadeer. I dream up something and my dad or grandparents get on it. As an example, I have over 200 houses I've designed across Ooo and Aaa and designed 4 cars for each. Like that, I design each article of clothing in Marceline's Closet."

I was dumbstruck. Of course she had a ton of things, of course she had a company in her honor. She was Marceline Raelene Abadeer. Something in her voice, though, caught me off guard. She wasn't bragging. Instead she sounded... what was it? Sad? Embarrassed? Irritated? I couldn't put my finger on it, but I did know that it wasn't braggy.

To fill silence, she continued, "Our most famous companies were founded for me. The three Kingdoms, Fire, Ice, and Candy, were made for me. I design the shoes for Fire, the rides and theme park for Ice, and create new sweets for Candy. The Squeez-E-Marts were originally storehouses for me until I changed it to a grocery store. Abadeer Airlines is strictly for me so I can travel around fast. Hambo's Workshop was named after my first stuffed animal. And of course our main company, Nightosphere Records, was to get my music started. When I was 6, I asked Dad to open them to the public because I felt spoiled, so now not many people realize that everything my father started was for me. It's all quite complicated."

"That's amazing." I said honestly. It truly was.  
She smiled, "Anyhow, I've sidetracked us. I hope you won't mind stopping by my house when we're on the way to yours."  
"Not at all."  
"Thanks, I–"

Cake's door opened, and Lady appeared.

"Come on in."

* * *

soooooo how'd you like it? ugh ikikikikikkkkkk it changes POVs wayyyyy too much. pls don't kill me.

REVIEWS GIVE ME MY POWERS

Oh and quick question: do you want cake to go with them to the hotties' house? i have two ways it could go (one with cake and one without duh) so i wanted to get your input.

kay i'll shut up.

PS: I love you.

(thats a good movie)

okay ill be quiet

PPS: I love you.


	5. My Empire of Dirt

Heyo! It's been a while! I should've updated sooner, sorry, my lovelies. But I'm a senior and we're reaching the end of the school year. Lots of pressure with college and stuff. Plus my son _and_ my boyfriend have NOT BEEN COOPERATING WITH ME UGH. I just got my boy to bed. I love him with all my heart still c: and ughhh don't get me started on my boyfriend. RAY I LOVE YOU BUT PLEASE STOP ASKING ME TO COME OVER ITS 2AM STAHHHPPPP

ANY WAYS. This is again strictly in Marcy's pov because ilhsm. Hope you like this one!

Disclaimer: Nope don't own adventure time. Nope don't own the offspring. Nope don't own paramore. Nope don't own xbox or playstation. Nope don't own any of the games i mentioned. If i did do you really think I'd be going to any college aside from usb right now? (I did apply for the hell of it, but even if i did get accepted i don't nearly have enough money for that ish. I'm poor af)

* * *

_**Marceline's POV**_

I looked at the boy's reactions to Dy's statement. In short, Jake looked happy and the others did not. However, they did all have an air of anxiety about them, which made me snicker. Bouncing up and down, sweating, wide-eyed, jittery. All because of a girl. I snickered some more. We could just wrap them around our nimble fingers couldn't we? I mentally thanked Glob that we weren't "those girls."

Marshall looked to Lordo, "After you, Lover Boy."  
Lordo ran a hand through his messy dark hair before stepping in.  
"Don't forget to keep your pants on!" Finn half-yelled-half-whispered, to which Jake and Marshall prominently smacked him. They were all giggling, though. _Giggling._ Like little school girls. Glob damn, that was adorable.

I followed Lordo into Cake's room and approached her bed before him.

In honesty, she looked terrible. Her light brown and orange hair, which was normally up in two high pigtails, was sweaty and plastered to her forehead. Her skin was something she was always proud of – a very faint, soft carmel color, but now it was completely washed off of her. She was sickeningly pale. Her voice was hoarse, now, too, instead of the sultry one she always used to get her way. On top of all that, she was hot and clammy and I put my hand to her face.

It broke my heart to see her looking so miserable. She was... so positive, so bubbly. Lazy, yes, but bubbly and... determined. She looked so helpless here. I hadn't seen her look like that since her and Fi's mother died.

I smiled at her, and before I got the chance to speak, she said, "Oh, look at you, you look so pretty!"  
A laugh escaped me. She almost sounded... Okay.  
"So now that you're here, you can finally get our loser friends to stop hovering me like mother hens! I'm fine!"  
Lady rolled her eyes, a small playing smile on her lips.  
"Mm, I don't know about that, Pie," I said and she groaned.

When we first met and introduced ourselves, I kept calling her Pie to make fun of her name. It sort of stuck and now I joke around with her by calling her that. She claims to abhor the nickname, but I'm a people-reader. I can tell she doesn't entirely hate it.

"Babe, please, stop," she said.  
"Oh, shut up, Pie, you love it."

I turned around to Lordo, who was standing awkwardly at the foot of her bed, and gestured for him to say something.

"Oh! Um, I–I, uh... hi." he stuttered out, and I think for the first time, I realized that these Vampire Knights, were really just human beings. Ones with fears, crushes, and hopes. Okay, maybe they could split your skull in two if they willed it, but... Maybe... Maybe they... Hmm. Maybe there's more to them?  
Cake's laugh was short and kind, "Come over here!"  
He shuffled past me and Lady (no, of course she and I weren't piecing together that they like each other, nononooooo never) and to her side, "Um, how–how are you feeling?"  
"You're blowing it, man!" Jake faintly called out, receiving more hits from his other two friends. And they giggled again. Oh, Glob. That's just... that's fucking cute.  
Cake made a distasteful face, "Awful. But you're here, so you'll make it better!"

He blushed. Awwww...

"You know, I think it's sweet of you to come by."

*blushing intensified* Oh, young love...

"Yeah, I, uh..." his fingers were fumbling around a loose thread of his shirt, and he wasn't looking at her.

I watched as Cake, being such a damn tease, grabbed one of his hands to stop the fumbling. This made him look at her. AWWWWWWWWWWWW... I glanced at Dy and found her looking at them with as much fondness as I.

"Okay, so does she have a thing for idiots, or..." Finn quietly asked. He got hit. Giggles. DAMMIT.

The "couple" stayed like that for a while; holding hands, staring, faces flushing, occasionally smiling, completely unaware that we were staring at them.

Marshall cleared his throat, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. He was right behind me. What? Wait, what? How did he so quietly get from the floor in the doorway to... ugh, nevermind.

He spoke, "You know, Cake, we were all going to hang out together at our place. If you want to come, you're more than welcome to."

My jaw dropped. Marshall Lee Pierce was being sweet. He was being nice. He was being charming as hell. _Why?_ was all I thought.

Cake's gaze shifted over to Marshall, "I'd love t–"  
"Okay, step aside, hot bowl coming through, I got a hot bowl, so could you, no I need you, wait stop tha– oh, for fuck's sa– MOVE IT!" Fionna's voice called.

I chuckled. She's do anything for her sister. Including risking getting murdered by the Vampire Knights, apparently. When I scanned Marshall's face, however, he was amused, a wide smile beginning to form. And when he saw Fionna stepping into the room, he had a small sense of awe. I couldn't help but wonder why. When Fi had made it to Cake's bed, Marshall turned to me, with that smile, and raised his eyebrows in an impressed fashion before looking back at the girls.

Against my will, my face ignited.

* * *

Cake had just finished eating, and by the time, all of us were in her room, sitting on the floor or on her beanbags. Surprisingly, the boys hadn't killed anyone, and we were all maintaing an actually decent conversation.

"HEY!" Cake yelled at me.  
"Hmm?" I asked lazily.  
"THAT'S MY ROBE!"

Oh. Right. Whoops.

I chuckled nervously. Maybe the Vampire Knights wouldn't be the ones to crush my body after all.  
"Oh, calm down, Cupcake," Lady said, "She didn't have anything else to wear. You threw up on her, remember?"  
"How can I ever make this up to you, PinkyPie?" I sarcastically asked.  
A scary grin appeared on her face, "You have to play a song."

My face went paler (if that was even possible). Of course she'd want that. Cake had always oddly liked my voice and the way I played bass. And under any other conditions, I would've agreed, because I love playing, but... The Vampire Knights were here and... Shit.

"C'mon, Marceline," Fionna pleaded.  
"Yeah," Jake said, "Marcy, we've never heard you before."

Oh, wow. I almost forgot that they started calling me Marcy. They'd been doing that since they stepped into the room.

Finn, Jake, and Lordo put on their best pouty faces. Jake even gave me the puppy dog eyes (Glob, he was good at that!). Marshall simply turned to me with a small smile and a challenging look in his eyes.

A moment of silence past before I agreed.

"YES!" Lady did a small dance.  
"But! I said, "Since I left my bass at home I won't play it."  
Cake rolled her eyes, "Oh, please, Marce, do you think we care? You have the most gorgeous voice in all of Aaa and Ooo combined!"  
I blushed at the compliment, "What do you want to hear?"  
Fionna put on her "thoughtful" face, "Ooh! You're Gonna Go Far, Kid!"  
Ugh, "Fine."

_"__Show me how to lie, you're getting better all the time  
And turning all against the one, is an art that's hard to teach.  
Another clever word, sets off an unsuspecting herd  
And as you step back in the line, a mob jumps to their feet.  
Now dance, fucker, dance,  
Man he never had a chance,  
And no one even knew  
It was really only you.  
And now you steal away,  
Take him out today.  
Nice work you did,  
You're gonna go far, kid.  
With a thousand lies, and a good disguise  
Hit em right between the eyes, hit em right between the eyes.  
When you walk away, nothing more to say  
See the lightning in your eyes, see em running for their lives.  
Slowly out of line, and drifting closer in your sights,  
So play it out, I'm wide awake,  
its a scene about me...  
There's something in your way, and now someone is gonna pay  
And if you cant get what you want, well, its all because of me.  
Now dance, fucker, dance,  
Man I never had a chance  
And no one even knew  
It was really only you.  
And now you'll lead the way,  
Show the light of day.  
Nice work you did  
You're gonna go far, kid.  
(Trust, deceived)  
With a thousand lies and a good disguise  
Hit em right between the eyes, hit em right between the eyes.  
When you walk away, nothing more to say  
See the lightning in your eyes, see em running for their lives.  
Now dance, fucker, dance, he never had a chance  
And no one even knew, it was really only you.  
So dance, fucker, dance, I never had a chance.  
It was really only you.  
With a thousand lies and a good disguise  
Hit em right between the eyes, hit em right between the eyes.  
When you walk away, nothing more to say  
See the lightning in your eyes, see em running for their lives.  
Clever alibis, Lord of the Flies.  
Hit em right between the eyes, hit em right between the eyes.  
When you walk away, nothing more to say  
See the lightning in your eyes, see em running for their lives."_

My friends screamed and cheered, which I found funny because there were only 8 of us in the room. How supportive! (cue the eye rolling)

I looked around, trying to gauge their reactions. In case you haven't noticed, I was also self conscious of my music. But I was mostly worried that they figured out what that song meant.

Finn kept head-banging, most likely because he forgot I wasn't singing anymore and only stopped when he accidentally hit Jake. Said boy looked mildly horrified and had turned to Lordo to say "That was really good." Lordo was smiling ridiculously and looking at Marshall. Now, Marshall, he was sitting right next to me, looking down at the ground and… blushing a little? Weird. But when he looked up at me he gave me that annoyingly cute smile.

"Now you understand why we wanted her to sing so bad!" Lady said, beaming.  
"You should hear her play bass," Fionna agreed, going through Cake's closet to get her some clothes for her shower.  
"What did you think?" Cake asked excitedly.

Marshall looked directly at me, "She's amazing."

So does anyone else hate blushing as much as I do?

"When we all play together, it's even better," Lady said.  
"Wait, you all play?" Finn asked.  
She nodded happily, "Marcy sings and plays bass, Fionna and I play guitar, and Cake plays drums."  
The Vampire Knights looked impressed. Of course they did. Everyone was when they found out.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but how about while we wait for Cake in the shower, you guys take Marceline to her house?" Fionna offered.  
Marshall nodded, looking to his friends, "We can do that."

Oh, great. Alone time with the Vampire Knights.

* * *

I was terrified again. You know, sitting alone in their car with all four of them surrounding me. I mean, yeah, they proved themselves to be moderately normal earlier, but that didn't stop me from still being scared. I could tell that there was really so much more to them.

I pointed to my house when we got near it. I had to describe it as "the big red and black one."

When we got inside, the boys gasped.

"_This_ is your house?" Lordo asked, "It's huge!"  
I smiled, slightly getting uncomfortable, "Yeah. I'm an Abadeer, guys! This was the first one I ever designed, and it's my favorite, so I chose to live here."  
"Seriously?"  
"Seriously. Like Fionna and Cake's house? I made that one for them. Same with Dy's."  
"Whoa…" was all that came out of their mouths.  
Finn looked at me, "Tour?"  
I rolled my eyes and agreed.

Each room we walked in led to more shocked faces. Even the bathroom. I found it pretty humorous to see them so dumbstruck. When we finally made it to my room, they got even more excited, probably because it was the "grand finale" of the "tour."

My room was a deep blood red with more black accents, mostly ones that I randomly painted when I was bored, and drawings, pictures, and posters from movies, bands, games, and TV shows I loved. But the ceiling was a dark blue, and I had painted the Milky Way galaxy up there years ago. (I think they finally realized my house consisted of the colors red, purple, black, and blue) I had a window to the left that was kept open so that the apple tree could slightly lean in, with a small indentation in the wall so that I could put a small mat there to sit if I wanted. My bed was right next to the window, littered with clothes from this morning. My desk was next to that. It was dark purple and had my laptop sitting on top of it. The drawers were filled with sketchbooks, notebooks, and a variety of pens and colored pencils, along with my iPod, spare phone, and camera (because, yeah I was a dork about photography). The shelving was full pictures of me and my friends, along with a bunch of books I've enjoyed over the past years ("OMG HARRY POTTER?!" "NO JAKE STOP IT DON'T RUIN HER STUFF!") and little trinkets and stuff I've found or bought. On the right wall was the entrance to my bathroom, and I thank Glob that I didn't leave anything embarrassing out this morning. My TV was across from my bed, and underneath it was all of the movies I liked, and a few of the ones that I was in. A bunch of CDs from different bands, including my own were thrown around it too. Then, came my closet.

"Marceline's Closet…" Marshall said quietly.  
I grinned.  
"Hey, Marcy!" Finn called, "Where does this lead?"

He and Jake were standing in front of a white door (pretty much the only white thing I had in my house) that was mostly covered in my band's album posters. _"Tensioned" _and _"Glob Save the Vampire Queen"_ were overlapping each other, that's how many there were. My grin widened when I saw the door. I stepped in front of them, my hand closing around the door knob, which was hidden behind my back.

"I'll show you."

Their eyes became the size of the moon. Because that room was filled with one thing I enjoy very much, and one thing that controls boys' lives. Video games. Call of Duty, Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fable, Grand Thef Auto, Life is Strange, World of Warcraft, The Walking Dead, all of it. I had every. Single. One of them. It was a teen boy's wet dream in there. Play Stations and Xboxes were everywhere as well as "gamer chairs," at least two in front of each TV and computer, which was a lot. I made sure the sound was great in there and put speakers around all of the corners, as well as a really nice subwoofer. The sound system nearly broke once because I was playing The Last of Us too loud. In the far back was my axe bass and my microphone, Lady and Fi's guitars, and Cake's drums; all custom made. The only reason they were there was because the Gaming Room was also a recording studio.

"I…" Lordo said before running to my collection of games with Finn and Jake.  
I laughed, "I'm gonna go change. You enjoy yourselves."

They apparently didn't hear me because they started blasting some of my music. I think it was "Now," but I couldn't tell because they also decided to turn up the volume on the Xbox and began playing Halo. It looked like Combat Evolved, so it would get pretty loud in there. Luckily, I soundproofed the room, so they were covered. I closed the door and walked over to my closet, unaware the Marshall was sitting on my bed, looking at a picture of my mom and I.

I walked into my closet and closed the door, immediately stripping off Cake's robe.

"Is this your mom?" Marshall asked.  
My heart skipped a beat. _Momma__…_ I thought and sighed. I missed her. And didn't want to talk about her, but...  
"Yeah," I answered.  
"How old are you in this?"  
I picked out my bra and panties, "Mmm, which one is it?"  
"Uhh, she's on a swing that's hanging from a tree, and she's holding you. You're wearing an overall kind of dress and…"  
I didn't need him to continue; I knew exactly which photo he was talking about. The last time I ever saw her...  
Before I answered, he chuckled, "You have short hair. Messy short hair. I don't think I've ever seen you with short hair before."  
I picked out some black skinny jeans, "You don't want to. I look terrible with it."  
"I think you look cute."  
"Yeah, well," I found a dark and light purple sweater and a tiny red camisole to wear underneath, "I'm 3 in that. I did shave half of my head once!"  
He laughed, "What?"  
I picked up my faded red converse, "Yeah. It was a bet when I was in 7th grade."  
"I have to see that."  
"I'll show you." I grabbed my favorite gray hoodie and left the closet.

He just stared.

"Something wrong?" I asked.  
He shook his head, "No, no… You just… Nothing."  
I tried to shrug that off and walked to my desk. In the bottom drawer was the photo of me with half my head shaved, and Bonnie, with her full head of strawberry blond hair laughing at me.  
I handed it to him and his face reddened, "You don't look bad."  
Scoffing at him, I put the photo back, "Right."  
"No, really! I think you actually look pretty. Well, I mean, you always look pretty, I meant you still look pretty like that."  
I looked at him and slowly smiled. Because did Marshall Lee just call me pretty? Holy shit, weird things are happening today.  
"So were you friends with Bonnie once?" he asked, his face slowly returning to its color.  
I nodded.  
"What happened?"  
I looked down, "Ashley."  
He was quiet.  
"She's a terrible person, Marshall. Bonnie was my best friend, then Ashley started a rumor in 7th grade, and it… She started telling Bonnie things about me, too… And she…" I breathed in and out, "She cornered me one day with her friends and she… Bonnie was there, too, and didn't do anything because… Because Ashley had…" before I burst into tears, I stated, "She is a mean girl. We can leave it at that, yeah?"  
He nodded, "She's hurt us, too."  
I looked at him and for some reason, felt that I could trust him.  
"You don't have to feel like you're the only one she hates," he gave me a quirky smile, "That's why Finn pushed her down those stairs."

I laughed genuinely. I ran into my closet, grabbing my backpack and some pajamas in case I wanted to get comfortable later and then grabbed my phone from my pocket.

"Smile, Marsh,"  
I snapped a picture of him on my bed, looking so happy. The setting sun definitely made everything look better.  
He laughed at me, "Marsh?"  
I blushed a little. Had I really started calling him Marsh in less that a day? Oh, dammit, he just gave me that annoyingly knowing smile.

"Shut up, I'm documenting."

* * *

That is a wrap! So they'll be going to the Vampire Knights' house in the next chappie so yay! Please review!

AFalseReality - Super happy you're enjoying it! Plus, you reviewed twice, so I'm totally in love with you now. jk but really thank you so much. I have some pretty great plot twists in mind ;)

americana1998 - ohhhh . you made me blush. Thank you soso much for your review! I hope I'm doing good. It's really hard to keep things detailed.

Marcy - eyyyyyyyyyy love your guest name xD (don't tell anyone but I think you also motivated me to write this so ily)

Love you guys so much! I hoped you liked it! I think I actually put effort this time so… :) reviews give me my powers.

(have I told you how lovely you looked today? because i think you look really really lovely and I'm actually super jealous and attracted to you at the same time.)


	6. The Start of A New Adventure

IT'S BEEN AGES SINCE I'VE UPDATED, WOW I'M A BITCH. REALLY I'M A PIECE OF SHIT, LIKE FUCK, WOW, SOMEONE FLY OVER TO SF AND KILL ME BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE A CRANBERRY FUCKNUT RN, WOWOWOW.

I'm so sorry, guys! Life has been catching up with me recently. In fact, life passed me up and decided to screw me over at every turn, so... I haven't had much time to write. Ugh. It's been bothering me, too. You ever get a feeling like you _know_ you gotta do something, and you really, really _want_ to do it, but you manage time like shit and when you do have the time, you aren't motivated?

Yeah, THAT'S ME.

SOOOOOO here it is c: crappy, probably, but, hey, it's here. ALSO, there's been a little change to my writing style. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Adventure Time, Quarantine, The Breakfast Club, The Harry Potter franchise, Chronicle, or The Back To The Future franchise. Please don't sue. That would almost be worse than Donald Trump getting elected (dear Glob, no)

* * *

_**Marshall Lee's POV**_

It took ages to get to our house.

_Why? _you might ask. Well, it all revolves around my four _brilliant_ friends. You see, I love my friends. I grew up with them, lived every embarrassing moment of my life with them, comfortably make a fool out of myself in front of them everyday, etc. They're my family. It's just... some things that they do just... _irk_ me, to say the least. Like, you know, Lordo "accidentally" blurting out that Marceline would make a hot Hermione Granger.

Take that in for a minute.

Like...

First of all, how dare you?

Second of all, **_how dare you!?_**

Okay, yes, everyone admit it–Marcy with a brown bushy wig and contacts would be the most accurately beautiful and intelligent Hermione in the world. We know. Right? But just, Glob dammit, Lordo! He just _had_ to go and make it weird! Ugh! The company I keep... Although... I have to say, the blush that came out of it was super cute on Marcy

I can't blame her for getting flustered, though. I mean, if someone told me I'd make a hot Hermione, I would've blushed, too... Wait, what?

So, after the whole "Marceline Granger" moment (to which Jake smacked Lordo for so I didn't have to, thank Glob), we started driving back to Cake and Fionna's place. The problem here? Well... Jake may have thrown a pie at Lady. Yes, a pie.

Do. Not. Ask.

I mean, where the hell did he even _get_ a pie? Did he run to our house? Did he steal one from Marcy's? Is he just some magical human pie-machine that has a clown pocket in his, I don't know, asshole that spurts pies left and right? I don't even know. To tell you the truth, I think he and Marceline planned the whole thing. I wouldn't be surprised.

Thank Glob, yet again, that Lady took it in stride. And by that, I mean she raged after him. Playfully, I think. _I think._

Good think we all got a good laugh out of Jake, one of the "hottest" and most "badass" guys in the school, might I remind you, sprinting down the street screaming "I'M SORRY, MISS RAINBOW FLOWER SUNCAKE, I'M SORRY!" and being chased by one of the kindest girls who ever lived. Lady's got some serious balls to go running after a Vampire Knight. It's rumored we'll kill you (pssshhhhhh). So good on Lady! You know what?

I like Lady.

Something positive did come out of this, though. Because of this incident, by the time we made it to our house, everyone was in a fairly good mood. Well, except Cake. She was still sweating and coughing like she had a hairball caught in her throat.

You know, it just occurred to me that she does kind of resemble a cat...

* * *

"Yep," Finn said after we finished showing the girls around our house. "It's not much, but at least it's ours."

"You have a two story house with six individual bedrooms, a bathroom _with a hot tub_, a huge ass living room, and the most fully stocked fridge I've ever seen," Fionna pointed out. She reached into our fridge, getting comfortable, and pulled out a grape soda. "Enough said."

Marceline smiled faintly at her friend as she hopped up to sit on a barstool. You know, I've noticed that since we left her house, she's had this air of... radiance about her. Sophistication. Like she was glowing and illuminated any room she walked into, even when she wasn't smiling. It's kind of hard to explain, but it made her 10x more stunning anytime I looked at her. I also felt a little triumphant that we started to break the ice with her. She was cracking jokes more often, and seemed less panicked around us. Maybe because she saw my dumbass friends geek out in her game room. Or maybe it was because she wasn't wearing Cake's pink robe anymore. Or... Maybe it was that tiny heart-to-heart we had.

I don't know... I hope so.

Marceline's sweater drooped down her shoulder briefly, revealing her bare skin and the tiny red camisole she wore underneath. Unfazed, she tugged it back up before it fell _too_ low. You see, _she_ was unfazed. _I, _on the other hand, was not.

Damn, she has smooth skin.

I slapped myself mentally. _Dude, _I told myself, _you're a fucking pervert. Don't stoop to Ash's level!_

Lordo walked out from the hallway holding some movies. "Okay, guys, I got _Quarantine, _the first one, not the shitty one, uh... _Back To The Future,_ ooh, all three; that's cool! Hmm... Oh! _Chronicle! _Now that is a good movie. Let's see here..."

I walked behind him and saw the movie he was holding. Upon reading the label, my 'cool guy' facade was gone and I felt like a giddy little kid. I snatched it from his hands.

"Hey-"

"_The Breakfast Club,_" I said, holding out the cover of the DVD case. I was grinning like an idiot.

Marceline's face turned into a mixture of wistfulness and awe as she looked at the title. "_Hell _yeah, Marsh..."

Okay, have to admit here, I kinda love it when she calls me Marsh.

Either way, I shoved the choking sensation I felt when she looked at me deep, deep down into the pit of my stomach. I found myself doing that a lot when I was around Marceline. To distract myself, I stared at _The Breakfast Club_ yet again.

I remembered the first day I'd watched this film. I was only six. My mom had called me into her bedroom, saying she wanted to "educate" me on quality films. Let's just say that from that day onward, I fell in love. Mom and I watched it every Saturday morning with breakfast. Of course, we couldn't finish the whole thing, but Mom would promise me we'd finish it later. This meant, I'd rush to do all my chores before sitting down at 9:00PM to finish the movie. Like I said, I was in love. By the time I was 12, I had posters of Molly Ringwald scattered across my walls, right next to the Emma Watson ones. Yes, I loved _one movie _so much, it competed with _Harry_ motherfucking _Potter_. I was a dork.

And as I gazed at the movie yet again, I realized: I'm still a dork.

Then, I realized, the last time I'd watched it was when I was 12. Mom wasn't there, she was at work. She was _always_ at work. I cried that night. She always fell asleep exactly fifteen minutes before the end. I'd take the woolen blanket we always neatly folded on the couch and I'd tuck her in. That night was strange since she wasn't there for it.

"On, uh..." I started, "On second though, let's not... watch _The Breakfast Club._"

From the kitchen, Finn gave me a look.

Lordo seemed just as concerned. "O...kay, man... uh..."

"_Back To The Future_," Cake grumbled from the couch. She was bundled in a warm comforter from Lordo's room. Lady was slumped up next to her. "I haven't done a marathon in two weeks; it's time to binge."

Jake grinned, spinning around in his barstool. "She's cool."

My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text from... Aiden?

**Aiden: What did you do today?**

**Marshall: Um.. nothing..?**

**Aiden: Marshall Ash just THREATENED us**

**Aiden: AND he punched Elliot**

**Marshall: What? Dude, what's going on?**

**Aiden: I have no idea, man... He said something about Marceline**

**Marshall:... well, shit.**

**Aiden: You hiding something marsh? (sent by Elliot, btw)**

**Marshall: Nah man not at all.**

**Marshall: You know me**

**Marshall: I don't "hide"**

**Aiden: (Elliot) uh huh, you keep telling yourself that**

**Marshall: Dude...**

**Aiden: (me again) Real talk, Marshall? Be careful. I know some of the Perfects are going after Marcy, too**

**Marshall: You kidding me?**

**Aiden: I don't "kid."**

**Marshall: Don't mock me, fire boy.**

**Aiden: I GOT LIT ON FIRE ONE TIME MARSHALL. ONE. TIME.**

**Marshall: Whateverr**

**Aiden: Glob I wanna murder you.**

**Marshall: Ahh but which Vampire Knight would be your favorite then, hmm?**

**Aiden: -_- stop.**

**Aiden: But back to seriousness. If Ash AND the Perfects are after all of you that's a bad sign. You've BOTH pissed BOTH of them off. And that means they're going after your friends too.**

**Marshall: Ooo to Fire Prince. You're our friend too**

**Aiden: I'm regretting that now**

**Marshall: Aww..**

**Aiden: CAN WE BE SERIOUS FOR TWO SECONDS?**

**Marshall:**

**Aiden:**

**Aiden: Thank you.**

**Aiden: All I'm saying is that you watch your back**

**Marshall: Sure thing. Thanks for the heads up**

**Aiden: Anytime. And Marshall?**

**Marshall: Yeah?**

**Aiden: Fionna. Take care of her.**

**Marshall: What?**

**Aiden: Take care of her. I know she can look after herself but..**

**Marshall: Yeah, I got you man. No problem**

**Aiden: Thanks. Igtg**

**Marshall: Later.**

Staring at the texts, trying to make actual sense of them, I had hardly noticed the room going silent. I glanced back from my phone to see all of our friends staring at me, puzzled. Marcy's gaze was solicitous. She touched my arm.

"Are you okay, Marshall?" she asked.

She touched me. Huh. Weird. Right? _Right?_

When I didn't respond, for reasons I don't even know, Finn held up his thumbs in a texting gesture. "You were... typing kinda fast..."

"That looked like some intense shit," Jake said. Just like Jake to throw _that_ in there.

My train of thought stuttered, which was unusual for me. I always tried to be collective in my thoughts, but now... It was just so difficult. "Oh," I spoke hesitantly. "No, it's nothing. Just..." I looked for a way out. "Mom."

"Well, that explains it," Lordo grumbled, pulling out the first _Back To The Future._

Cake coughed.

I ignored Marceline's strange looks. Sometimes, I felt like she could see right through all my barriers, even in the small moments we made eye contact when we passed each other in the hallways. It was utterly terrifying. Terrifying because I could never fathom the idea that someone could hold that much power over me. How could someone?

"Well," I said, uncomfortable. "Ready to start a short marathon?"

* * *

Midnight came way too soon. So did the last movie. I wasn't tired at the time, and neither was Marcy. Our friends, on the other hand, had dozed off together in a heap of pillows and blankets.

Marceline glanced at them. "Tsk tsk tsk. Wimps," she joked. "So weak."

I grinned. "You should've seen Finn during my Doctor Who marathon."

She rolled her eyes. "I bet that was oodles of fun."

I shrugged. "Like you said. Weak."

She giggled, and suddenly, I felt exhilarated. Like I was sitting on top of the world, and she was right there with me. Like I had just come out of an existential crisis and she had offered her hand. Like we hit life with our best shot, and life got knocked out. It was euphoric almost (Okay, Marsh, a little extreme). I'm not sure why I felt this way, though. She just had that effect on people. Which was... Amazing.

She sat up and stretched, her long midnight black hair falling down her back in a graceful, silky waterfall. Her clothes had changed since she came over, having realized she was sleeping over. She had on a light red, oversized t-shirt that fell down one shoulder and was so large, it covered her black and white shorts. Her socks had the little Nightoshpere Records symbol on them. She wore a bracelet that read 'I'm just your problem,' the title of one of her most famous songs. You know, that was one of the things I liked the most about her music. Not only were the songs beautifully composed (and varied from hardcore to mellow), but they all had some meaning–some untold story behind them. I wanted to know what those stories were, wanted to hear them expounded on in such immense detail I'd feel like my brain was about to explode. Like how I felt around her.

Did that make sense? Dear Glob, tell me that made sense.

I watched her scoot over to the DVDs laying on the floor, her alabaster skin reflecting the moonlight. Her fingers brushed the first _Back To The Future. _

"Marty McFly," she said, a chuckle in her voice. She looked back at me. "I'm really glad we got to re-watch these together. I haven't watched them in 20 freaking years."

I smiled at her. It felt natural. It felt like maybe if I kept smiling at her, tomorrow I wouldn't have to sort of fake myself at school. I wouldn't put up the barriers again.

Then, she picked up _The Breakfast Club._ My heart skipped about 12 beats. "Marcy..." I trailed off.

She squinted at me, but not with scrutiny. Her eyes seemed to glow and intense red, but I was probably imagining it.

"Why don't you want to watch it?" she asked.

I sighed. "Nothing important, really, just personal issues."

I really didn't want to go into this topic. Not just with her, but with anyone. My mom is a... sensitive case. Like my asshole father.

"I get it," Marceline said, tugging her raven hair behind one ear. She chuckled dryly, humorlessly as she looked at the DVD case. "Momma used to read Winnie the Pooh stories to me when I was very little. Some of my earliest memories come from those stories. And on the days I felt the most down, I'd just try to remember a quote. I had thousands of them. Painted on walls, printed on posters..." Her face, though it was mostly obscured by the dark, seemed distant and far-off. "They helped. My favorite was, 'As soon as I met you I knew an adventure was going to happen.' On the walls in one of my other houses was, 'Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.'  
"But Momma's favorite," she paused, "was, 'You are braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.' I guess she liked it so much because it could apply to any situation." Another pause. She looked at me. And I mean _at me._ "Including yours."

I inhaled sharply.

"I know I don't know the whole story," she continued. "I get how it seems in your head; that I don't understand. And you know what? I don't understand. But I _understand_ that I don't understand."

I didn't reply, because what could really be said? '_Oh, yes, Marceline. Thank you for your Winnie the Pooh quotes and nice stuff to say to me, but I'm still not over all the neglect I've been feeling for years, so...' _Ugh. I almost wanted to hate myself by that point.

"Don't distance yourself, Marsh," she said, picking at the blanket we were sitting on. "It's not good. I know that."

She stared at me again with that penetrating ruby gaze. "Promise me, Marshall?"

I forced a smile. My voice felt hoarse and raspy, as if I'd been choking for the duration she'd been speaking. "Promise."

Then she was smiling back at me. I saw the light shining in her eyes as if she felt like she'd just defeated an entire army of Ash's friends. I saw the way her face was elevated more than how it usually was when she smiled. I saw the light flush to her cheeks as she giggled lightly.

And you know what?

I only felt my smile become more real.

* * *

Weeelllllll, that was fun! Two Harry Potter refs in one sitting! Nice.

It's currently 3:07AM and I have an exam tomorrow. Ugh kill me.

Wow, guys, I can't believe how much positivity this story has received so far. It's almost overwhelming. It makes me feel so so so happy to see you all enjoy it and write cute little reviews, which I love to read :) In fact, it makes me almost feel... Blessed. I haven't been this happy in a long time, guys, and it's all thanks to _you. _I love you all!

HeligaDark - If you knew me in real life, you'd know I'm a HUGE nerd when it comes to video games, movies, and books. No joke, I think it might be a serious problem. Then again, I was raised with two older brothers and their best friend, so I grew up a tomboy. When I watch AT, I get certain girly _and _boyish vibes from Marceline. I wanted to invoke them in here, too! Idk, was it weird to you? Also, regarding the overload on her life... Yes, I agree with you. It was an overload. I was just trying to emphasize how "different" her life is. Of course, I had to make her father's businesses branch out into multiple categories because, really, it's Ooo we're talking about here. I understand that it's not realistic (one of my grandfathers was a businessman) but... idk... *sigh* Anyways... Thank you for reviewing!

DragonHalf - Two reviews? You are sent by the Gods, aren't you~ Thank you so very much for your encouraging review! How do you think it's going so far? I hope I didn't royally screw up your expectations with this chappie :/

Luna - I am at a loss for words. The fact that someone actually enjoyed this enough to _draw something for it _is one of the most amazing things in the entire world. I teared up a bit, to be perfectly honest. Wow, just... WOW. That's incredible. Unfortunately, I don't know how to view your (no doubt beautiful and flawless) fan art. Is there a link you could send me? Gah, I'm so giddy about it! You, my good reviewer, are such a fabulous person! If you can send me the art somehow, I'll make it the cover, too 3 ohh you're so lovely, take a cookie! *gives perfect cookie to the perfect person*

*gives perfect cookies to everyone else because you all are also perfect, too!*

Zack Clyde Von Crisst - The fact that I left you partially speechless is a huge self esteem booster :) Like, really, I felt so elevated by your review and kind words. Thank you so much! (here's the long awaited 6th chapter haha! I'd never leave this hanging c:)

Marie - Tank you for your review! I know a lot of authors don't appreciate the small, sweet reviews like yours, but I sure as hell do! Reviews like yours are so uplifting 3 Thank you again!

PhoenixK14 - Aww, thank you sweetie! Like with Marie, it's these little ones that really get my mind going and telling me "Dammit, Jasmine, update your story for the lovely reviewers like PhoenixK14!" Thank you, from the bottom of my heart :)))

Guest - Whaaaaaaaattttt? Me? Amazing? HArdly, dear Guest. Hardly. Still, I appreciate the thought 3

ALL RIGHT GUYS! HAPPY THOUGHT: (also feel free to send me happy thoughts for the ends of the chap pies)

It's okay to burn.  
It's okay to cry. Cry as much as you need to put out the fire.  
It will take time, but don't worry, that's when you will start to heal.  
And you can start to grow again [into something even more beautiful than what once was].

For what it's worth: it's never too late to be  
whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life  
you're proud of, and if you find that you're  
not, I hope you have the strength to start  
over.

you're brave and insightful and rash  
no one can take that away from you  
they don't have the right  
and they never will


	7. Traitor to the Monarchy

Hay. I'm upset, so nothing overwhelmingly excited or anything on these A/Ns today. Sorry, I know how much you love them.

Not a good chapter, by the way

Disclaimer: I don't own shit, dude.

* * *

_**Marceline's POV**_

For three whole weeks Lady, Fionna, Cake and I hung out with the Vampire Knights. Can you believe that? _Three whole weeks. _And we didn't die. Granted, it was mostly spent lazily lounging around the house, but it was still hanging out. For some reason within those few weeks I felt myself becoming very... at ease around them. They just had such a calming vibe once you got to know them. We even recorded a few songs together! Marshall wanted to do a cover of my song Famous Last Words, which I oddly allowed. I typically didn't let anyone go _near _the idea of recording a cover, especially of that song, so...

The point was: for those weeks, I felt like I was at the pinnacle of my existence. I don't think I've ever felt more uplifted, elevated. It was the most exhilarating feeing.

I thought about all of the memories I'd made as I searched through my locker, trying to find my books before school started. I was there, just casually minding my own business, when the most strange thing occurred. And it came wearing a dorky pink shirt and strawberry blond hair. Oh yes, you know who I'm talking about. I am referring to none other than Bubba Gumball.

While typically I was indifferent around Bubba (he was pretty nice, after all), something about how he had looked at me set me off guard.

"Hi, Marceline," he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

I glanced at him briefly. "Hey, Bubba..."

He didn't say a word and continued to stare at me. Though I wasn't directly looking at him, I could feel his blue eyes boring holes in my skull.

I finally turned back to him when the silence was sufficiently awkward. "Did you need something?"

"O-oh, no, nothing really," he stuttered. After a pause, he said, "I saw that you've been hanging out with the Vampire Knights recently."

I froze. "Why does it matter?"

Another pause. "Bonnie's worried about you–"

A pulse ran through me._ What did he say? _Bonnie is _worried_ about me? Oh, fuck no.

I spun to face him, my hair whipping with my movements. He stepped back a minute, possibly afraid. Part of me hoped he was. The other part didn't really care. All I could feel was my burning rage. All I could see was red.

"Shut up, just shut the fuck up!" I interrupted, my face becoming flustered. "Don't give me that bullshit, Bubba! I _know _that's not true! I-I _know _Bonnie doesn't care anymore! She proved that over four years ago when she left me in the Globdamn dirt!" I stomped my foot as I said this. I could hear my voice echoing loudly throughout the hallway. "She's just another person who used me, and I'm not going to let her do it again!" Taking deep breaths, I looked him in the eyes. "So if you're going to tell me that Bonnie actually gives two bitches and a flying cooch about _my_ well being, you'll have to forgive me."

Slamming my locker, I walked away.

"I don't deal with traitors to the Monarchy."

That's when I looked up and saw him. His shoulders sagged a bit and his eyes held sorrow and perhaps a bit of pity or understanding. He opened his mouth to say something, but it never came. I challenged him briefly.

Pushing past Marshall, I made my way to my first period.

* * *

_**Marshall Lee's POV**_

"Your call has been forwarded to an automated voice message system..."

I sighed and pressed 'end' on my phone. I pressed the cool screen to my forehead and closed my eyes. This was the twenty third call I'd made (ignore the fact that it's the twenty third call...), but Marceline still refused to pick up. I didn't understand what was wrong. How could something _be_ wrong when it was all going so _right_? I sighed and looked at Marceline's contact information, contemplating calling her again.

_Fuck it,_ I thought, and dialed her number.

* * *

_**Marceline's POV**_

Getting to school the next day was one of the most difficult things I'd ever done. First off, waking up was hard, as I was crying for a while after school (which consequentially led to me staying up late sobbing for hours) and didn't get much sleep. Then came me convincing myself that it was worth it. That school was worth it, that my friends were worth it, that _I_ was worth it. It was just so, so difficult.

Not to mention the fact that I'd barely spoken to any of my friends. Not even Fionna or... Marshall...

I pulled out my phone to briefly delete all of the messages my friends had been sending me as I walked to calculus class. I read a few of them.

**Marsh: you okay?**

**Fi-Fi: Hey, girl. whats up**

**Flame Princess: Bubba told us what happened. Are you all right?**

**Snow Princess: Don't ignore us**

**Marsh: Marcyyyyyyy**

**Finny Boy: come on babe whats going on**

**Marsh: Please talk to meee**

**Pie: HAY WHATS HAPPENING HOW ARE YOU DOING**

**Fire Prince: Girlygirll whats up**

**Marsh: ~Good little girl ~ always picking a fight with me ~ You know that I'm bad ~ but you're spending the night with me ~ What ~ do you want ~ from my world ~ You're a good little girl...~**

**Ice Prince: Gurlygurll what IS it**

**Fi-Fi: marceline..?**

**Marsh: WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING MARCY I KNOW YOU DONT HAVE A LIFE TALK TO ME**

**Lordo Voldemort: Marce? I wanted to check in with you..**

**Lordo Voldemort: Hey beautiful, how are you?**

**Simon :D: Marceline, sweetie, one of your friends told me you weren't feeling too well. Want me to stop by and bring you those chocolate dipped strawberries you like?**

**Miss Rainbow Flower Suncake: gurl. talk. how are you feeling c:**

**Marsh: I NEED LOVE AND ATTENTION MARCY**

**Jakey: idk whats going on but i wanna tell you that you're super rad :) and fuck the haters man**

I sighed and deleted the rest, the majority of them being from Marshall. I felt a little guilty for ignoring him for so long. Stepping into the calculus class, I groaned mentally. For a moment, I considered turning on my heel and sprinting down the hallway. My more rational part of my brain told me not to.

I slumped down in my seat, threw my hood up on my jacket, crossed my arms, and tried my hardest to look stubborn and bitchy. Sometimes, my chronic resting bitch face came out when I wanted it to.

I stared at the clock ticking. And ticking. And ticking. The seconds felt like hours.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my side. I turned to my right to see... Oh. Marshall Lee... For a minute, I felt better about the situation I was in and told myself everything was going to be okay. He smiled that adorable smile he gave me the first time we were in class together, but instead of blushing and babbling like an idiot like I'd done before, I smiled back.

Then I remembered I was mad and needed to have chronic resting bitch face and looked away from him.

I felt another poke not seconds later. Huffing, I ignored it. Another poke. Ignored. One more.

"Marsh," I warned sternly.

Two pokes. "What's goin' on?"

"Nothing."

A poke. "Don't believe it, Marce." A poke. "Come onnnnnn." Three more pokes. "Tell meeee..."

I felt my resiliency crumbling and facing away. Slowly I turned to look at him, and the walls disintegrated completely. His crimson eyes were laced with concern and his mouth was pursed. He looked... cute. His demeanor softened up a bit. He reached over and tugged my hood down, revealing the two low ponytails I wore my hair in that day. I always liked that style, and it was Momma's favorite. I skimmed over his features again and found myself almost transfixed by him. His cheekbones, his jawline, the swoop of his nose, the length of his eyelashes... The little things I never really focused on before. I almost wanted to touch him. Almost.

"I..." I started.

"All right, would Miss Abadeer and Mr. Pierce please step outside with me?" Asked the teacher just as the second bell rang.

Frowning, I shot a look to Marshall before following the teacher out. Was it because we were... flirting?

The teacher pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You two are juniors, yes?"

We nodded.

"Well," he said, holding a paper up to read, "I've been told by the principal that half of the junior students were selected to go on a field trip! And it appears that both of your names are indeed on the list."

My eyes widened. A field trip? Ridiculous. I hadn't heard anything about a field trip.

"Sir," I began, my brows furrowing. "Where exactly is this field trip located?"

He smiled. "It's supposedly just for the juniors to relax at the very first Abadeer mansion."

My heart plummeted and my face went blank. I knew exactly which house that was. My grandfather's mansion, and one of the largest properties ever owned by an Abadeer. When I say large I mean _large_. Like, multiple houses inside the "backyard" and an entire beach and such. It wasn't exactly one of my favorite places because Dad liked to spend a lot of time there, but I knew it well. What unnerved me more was that I didn't know anything about the scheduling.

"Oh..." I whispered. For some reason or another, it was all I could say.

* * *

_**Marshall's POV**_

I had been waiting for half an hour for her to show up but she never did.

The guys and I volunteered to bring Marceline home because the girls needed to pack for that really fucking unexpected field trip for the next day. Marcy said she'd be there within fifteen minutes after school got out, but she was still nowhere in sight. Lordo urged me to go look for her, saying they'd "hold down the fort" or something dorky like that.

Turns out it was actually pretty easy to find her. Only I wasn't very fond of the position she was in.

First thing I noticed? Perfects. Second thing I noticed? Girl Perfects. Last thing I noticed? Ashley. I forgot the evil witch had gotten better and was coming back to school. Her limbs weren't in casts or anything, so I assumed she had just been the drama queen she is and tried to milk the injury as long as possible. Still, just seeing her made my blood boil. Seeing how she was treating Marcy pissed me off even more. If she were Ash and his assholes, I would've beaten them up.

They had Marceline cornered behind the school, near the running track. Maja held her by her left shoulder and Ashley held her right, both of them seemingly threatening her. Off to the side, Bonnie sat, stroking her long strawberry blonde hair with fondness as she curiously watched the situation. It angered me further. From what I did hear Marcy scream to Bubba the other day, and from what I learned about Marcy over the past few weeks, Bonnie hurt her. _Bad._ And that wound was still festering on Marceline's stainless skin. Bonnie just standing on the side, watching one of the sweetest people ever (not to mention, her ex-best friend) get... bullied... was just fucking messed up!

As I walked towards them, Marceline began shaking her head at something they said. Then, Ashley raised her fist.

I caught her wrist.

Maja saw who I was and what I was doing and let go of Marceline's shoulder, backing up a bit, her eyes fearful. Ashley wasn't looking at me and shook her wrist, irritated. She looked at my hand and grunted trying to pry my fingers from her wrist. Then, she saw my face. She seemed shocked at first and her jaw dropped. She tried to take a step back, but I still held her wrist. She looked utterly petrified.

I gave her my grin, that scary grin that I always flashed Ash. "What's, uh, what's going on here?"

Ashley blinked so many times I would've thought her fake eyelashes would've fallen off. "I-I we... We were..."

I listed my head down at her arm. I shrugged. "Looks like you were trying to hurt her. Is that true?"

"N-No! We'd never-"

"Yeah, well it sure seems like that's what was happening," I cut off, sounding much more forceful than I wanted to. During the short moment of silence, it was just me and her–a stand off with rival gazes. Then, I glanced at her perfectly manicured hand and smiled, exhaling through my nose in a laugh. "Yeah." I let go of her wrist, and she pulled away so hard she stumbled a bit. "Let me tell you something, Ashley." I got in close and whispered. "Marceline Abadeer is off limits." I pulled back. "You move a hair on her head, and it will be the end of you. Understand?"

Though I wasn't big on threatening females, Marceline was the bigger priority. Besides, I knew I wouldn't hurt them, and that was what mattered.

Ashley nodded, still too dumbfounded and flabbergasted to speak.

Still staring the platinum blonde down, I put my arm around Marceline's shoulders and hugged her close to me, turning and walking towards the car. She sniffled a bit.

"I only wanted to make friends..." she whispered, her voice fragile and broken.

I wrapped my arm around her tighter and pulled her closer. I remembered the vow my friends and I took all those years ago. No one hurt Marceline–not while we stand by her.

I was determined to keep on living by that vow.

* * *

I wish I had field trips where I just got to relax. This one wasn't too funny or cute or anything. Just really depressing because I'm such a piece of shit throw me in the trash hahahahahahah;-;ahahahhahaahaah

Love you and please please _please_ leave a review because reviews keep me going.

HeligaDark - aww thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the chapter. No, I didn't get offended or anything like that about your review for chapter four. It was constructive criticism, which I seriously appreciate. Sometimes, you have reviewers who ONLY comment nice things when I'm like, "Uhm. I know it's bad. I know I need to work on things. Tell me. TELL ME!" Lol at any rate, you are a super fab person for reviewing at much as you do c: You do not go unnoticed.

Luna - I'm still waiting for a link to that artwork because ASDFGHJKL; IM STILL NOT OVER THE FACT THAT SOMEONE DREW SOMETHING FOR ME OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOGMOGMMGOGMG

HAPPY THOUGHT:

you'll exist until the bitter end  
stubborn and a survivor  
there is nothing in this whorl that can bring you down  
but yourself

you are a storm disguised as a cloudy evening  
the comedic and tragic masks of theater  
in a universe where the inhabitants are boring  
you are a bright light


	8. Vexation & Endearment

Hello.  
I'm not feeling too good.  
Okay, so the other day I realized I've made, like, _one_ MCR reference, which is really freaking stupid because the _title of the damn story is a play on words about My Chemical Romance.  
_So, in conclusion: I'm retarded.

BUT HERE YOU GO, ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL SOULS.

Slight NSFW stuff? Just references . . . kind of.

(P.S: I cannot believe I've written 20k+ on this . . .)

Disclaimer: *weary sigh* what do you think?

* * *

_**Marceline's POV**_

"Marshall Lee," I said, folding a pair of jeans and stuffing them into my bag, "I will seriously pay you to _shut up._"

He grinned knowingly at me, which made me roll my eyes. But the thing was: _I really would do anything for him to shut his stupid cute–i mean irritating face._

He hadn't stopped talking about the field-trip-break thing, which was both vexatious and endearing at the same time. Was it even possible to be vexed and endeared by someone at the same time? Apparently with Marshall.

"Nah," he said, sneering playfully as he stretched out on my bed.

I placed a hand on my hip, feeling frivolous, and stared down at him. "I'm determined, Marsh. This money," I pulled my wallet out of my pocket, "could be yours for five minutes of silence."

He closed one eye and squinted upwards, scrunching up his face. "Mmmmmno deal."

I groaned and shoved my wallet away, spinning back around towards my closet to pick out more things for the field trip. Was it even a field trip? Like, what would we even be learning? How to slack off and not do homework? _Probably, _I thought.

Marshall glanced inside my bag. "Hey, Marce?"

"Yeah?"

"Um," he started, scratching behind his ear. "Do you really have to bring your entire store there?"

I emerged from my closet with a new pile of stuff to bring. Bags, clothes, accessories . . . It felt like I couldn't bring enough. Then, it hit me that he made a very poor pun, and I glowered at him, dropping all of the things from my closet on top of him.

"Yes," I said flatly. I reached over and picked up a band t-shirt that had fallen on his face, folding it neatly. "I'm a girl, Marsh. I have to overpack. It's what we do."

He didn't make any moves to remove all of the clothing on top of him, which I oddly found hilarious. He just stared up at the galaxy painted on my ceiling, lips pursed in a small 'o.' Then, he knotted his lips to one side.

"But this is your family's place, yeah? Shouldn't you already have all your crap up there?"

I froze mid-folding of my shirt. He was right. He was right. He was so freaking right. It made no sense. Marshall Lee Pierce made a smarter observation than me. _How?_

From the awkward position he was in, he craned his neck to look at my dumbfound expression, giving him a double chin. He smirked.

"Oh?" he asked, feigning nonchalance. "Did I catch the princess off-guard?"

I squeezed the Panic! at the Disco shirt in my hands hard. Then, I threw it at his face. "One," I began, returning to a sassy pose, "I'm not a princess. I'm a queen. Get it right." I picked up a Fall Out Boy shirt and threw it at his face just as he was recovering from the other one. "Two, you did not catch me off-guard. You just . . . stumbled me."

He snorted, pulling my shirt from his face and sitting up straight, toppling all of my things on top of him to the floor. "_Right_, because standing there with your mouth wide open and eyes about to fall out of their sockets qualifies as 'stumbled.'"

I stepped closer to him, crossing my arms. "Bite me."

He listed his head to the side, leaning towards me. "Tempt me."

I drew back, actually _stumbled _this time. Marshall . . . He . . . Did he just . . ?

Oh, he _did_, didn't he?

But from the hazy, regretful look on his face, he was just about as surprised he said it as I was.

The momentary shock wore off after a brief second of staring at him, dazed and stupefied. His expression transitioned and recovered quickly as he give me another knowing grin. Oh no, he knew _exactly_ what he just said.

I raised my right hand. "Say that again."

He mocked pleading eyes. "Oh, please, Your Royal Highness, I didn't mean to offend you."

Friskily, I made the move to slap him, knowing I wouldn't _really _do it (trust me, I could throw a punch instead if I wanted to), but was just trying to be jocular. I didn't expect Marshall to grip my wrist firmly and pull me towards him, his face remaining confident and sultry as he did so. I drew in one sharp, instantaneous breath as how close he was . . .

He smirked temptingly, _tantalizingly_. "Wanna try that again, sweetheart?"

My breathing labored. He was close, like the first day of calculus, when I had dropped my pencil. Except this time, everything was different. He was more than just the hot, scary, mysterious, intimidating Marshall Lee Pierce now. He was _Marshall_. His name had taken on a whole new meaning to me within only a few weeks.

He stared at me with this _look_ I don't think I've ever seen anyone I cared about give me before. Just this _look_, that sent every fiber of my body on edge, ever hair rise to attention, every single emotion sparkle like a thousand firecrackers in the sun. He looked at me like there was something worth seeing in me.

Those paralyzing crimson irises of his flickered to my lips, then back to my eyes. I could see he wasn't truly looking at my eyes anymore, or maybe even my face. He was looking at _me._

Instinctively, I licked my lips, hoping my breath didn't smell like the breakfast cereal I'd had that morning, because, damn, we'd be stark in comparison. He smelled like strawberries again. Yes, I could get used to him smelling like that.

And before I knew it, he was leaning closer, pulling me closer. And, Glob, was I in a position to refuse?

His lips briefly reached mine, just the lightest brush of skin that I think made every bone in my body feel like icicles that could shatter any minute.

It was short-lived.

My door room burst open, Jake running in holding his phone. His face was excited and his dopey brown eyes held a light I had never seen before. He looked so sweet and elevated and happy, I almost wouldn't have been upset at him for interrupting.

"Marshall! Marshall!" he exclaimed, practically beaming as he stared at his phone. He ran a hand through his brown hair.

Marshall let go of my wrist and let his arm fall. I could still feel the warmth of his hand on my tingling, ignited skin. I turned my face away from Jake briefly.

"_What?_" he growled, stepping towards Jake a bit.

Jake picked up on his aggressiveness, but didn't react much to it. He continued on being excited, saying, "My Chemical Romance is in . . . town . . . on the . . ."

Jake's words faltered and his voice wavered as he looked from Marshall, who was glaring daggers at him, to me, who was trying desperately to cover my face, and back to Marshall again. Understanding crossed over his face, hesitant.

"Or, you know, I could just . . . wait to tell you . . ." He said, backing away and out of the room.

I finally looked head on towards my door, which had closed softly again. Marshall was still giving it a black look, his arms plastered to his sides as his hands clenched. I turned my gaze away, my cheeks feeling like they had been scalded.

"If you need to–"

And then he stepped two paces towards me and his lips had crashed into mine, cutting me off in the only way I could find acceptable. He cupped the back of my neck, burying a hand in my hair, and wrapped an arm around my waist. I felt my entire body turn rigid, those icicle bones of mine solidifying for good. Then, he pulled for only a moment and I could feel his breath on my mouth, and the icicles melted with the fury of a million stars. I hooked my arms around his neck and pushed myself closer to him.

He reached under my thighs and lifted me up onto the desk. My breath hitched. I could taste strawberries and, Glob, was it intoxicating.

The kiss was not as romantic as it sounded, though. It was sloppy and not quite well-placed and extremely unexpected, but that seemed to make things that much better. It was what made me realize why I always saw so many people making out in the hallways or why everyone bragged about how many people they'd been with.

It was because it felt fucking amazing.

The moment had ended far before I wanted it to. He pulled away, his hands remaining on my waist. I was panting, my eyes still half-lidded as I tried to get a better look at his face. Despite _my _shocked reaction, I wanted to see what he was feeling. What he wanted to display. But there was such a variety of emotions, I couldn't quite place all of them.

He looked up at me, my shocked face, and his expression became worried, then regretful again.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, hanging his head.

I almost laughed, because what was there to be sorry for? He kissed me. Granted, it was unwarranted, but still . . . It was welcome. I was always so reserved, and never really took an interest in boys, but this _kiss_ . . .

Though, I did wonder . . . What did it mean? Did he like me? Could it even be _possible_ that he liked me? I winced at the feeling of my heart skipping a few beats at the thought.

He continued with shaky breath. "They told me you'd never been kissed before, and I . . ."

My jaw dropped.

Oh.

That's why he'd kissed me.

Not because he liked me or had an interest in me or even remotely had a desire to do so in the first place. I tried not to let my heart sink. I tried not to be upset. I tried not to be disappointed. It all made perfect, clear sense.

He pitied me.

Probably realized that small, inferior Marceline Abadeer would never have the luxury of feeling another person's lips on hers either way, too.

I internally smacked myself.

Composing myself, I removed my arms from his neck and planted one on his chest, using the other to make him look at me. I told myself not to be angry. I told myself not to lash out. But then–

_SMACK!_

Marshall stumbled back, a dark sport forming on the spot on his left cheekbone that I'd punched him. It looked like it would bruise. I smirked. _Good, _I thought. No one messes with the Queen like that.

I hopped down off the desk, running my hands along my jeans, tightening my ponytails, fixing my shirt to look more presentable. I faced him finally. His thumb was caressing the bruise as he looked at me with this strange sense of awe.

It made me frustrated and happy and irritated and blissful all at the same time.

_Vexation and endearment._

I flashed him a smile, patted his shoulder, then left my room.

* * *

_**Marshall Lee's POV**_

I gaped at the huge, towering buses that were supposed to take us to one of Marcy's mansions. Well, not _hers_, but one of her family member's, or something like that. But, look, the point was, the buses were big! They were wide, maybe fitting four people per side of each aisle, and had a second story where there were a few beds for students to sleep on.

Marceline appeared beside me. She smiled, amused, and pushed my jaw closed. I hadn't even realized my mouth had fallen open.

"_Those_ are the buses we're riding in?" Lordo asked, heaving up his and Cake's bags.

Fionna nodded, shifting her weight to one leg. "What did you expect, guys? She's an _Abadeer_."

Marceline smirked, though it wasn't haughty. "Exactly." She turned back to the buses, peering at them. "Besides, my grandfather's place is kinda far. A few days away." She shrugged, looking back at us. "Gotta ride in style, right?"

I heard a scoff next to us. Turning, I saw Lily Simran Prices standing with the rest of the Perfects, her eyes devilish.

"Yeah, style you don't have!" she said, the other Perfects there to back her up with their automated laughs.

Finn rolled his eyes at her. "Uh-huh. Well, since we're just throwing things out in the open like this, can I just be honest and say one thing?" He stepped forwards until he was right in front of her. It was funny how she was taller than him in her platform heels. "You. Are. A." He swirled his finger around her face. "Biiiiiiitch." He poked her nose when he was done swirling it around.

Another scoff, this time from Maja. "At least she's prettier than these losers! They must be wingmen."

I glared at her. "And we could remove 90% of _your_ beauty with a wet Kleenex."

Lily looked at me. "Hmm. You know, Marshall, if you bitched any more, I'd think it was that time of the month."

Cake waved a hand around. "Uh, hey, Lily? You _do_ realize that Paris Hilton _isn't _a good role model, don't you?"

"Wow . . ." Ashley said, looking Cake up and down. "That face . . . Glob must _hate _you!"

"Honestly, Ashley," said Fionna, "you really gotta put a bag over that personality. I mean, _damn_!"

"Um, news flash," Maja replied. "Just because you're blonde doesn't mean you have to act like an idiot."

Lordo pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do people really fall for you . . . _despite _who you are?"

Bonnie, who was standing in the back, had been nudged forwards by the other Perfects. She fixed her strawberry blonde bun, uncomfortable in the center of attention, which was so unlike her. it made me want to shake her violently to get her to snap out of it. Either be a bitch, be nice, or get out.

"Um . . . You . . . You'd need a Ph.D. to come up with something as meaningless as that."

Marceline seemed to gain courage to defend herself when Bonnie had come near. "Oh, Bonnibel," she retorted soothingly, tittering. "I'd really call you a cunt right now, but you just lack that warmth and depth."

I felt an odd sense of pride (and really laughed my ass off) as she said this. It seemed Marceline's passive aggressive side was finally coming to her aid.

Bonnie's face flushed and she looked down, retreating toward the back of the Perfects' group. I could see Summer and Winter back there, along with Aiden and Elliot. They were all struggling to maintain straight faces. Leon Sheldon Preiss stood next to Bubba. Leon looked utterly pissed, whereas Bubba just sat there with wide blue eyes.

I glowered at him, though I didn't know why.

Lady gritted her teeth and forcefully said something in . . . what language was that? Korean?

Jake translated, "We can feel our personalities turning to a dull shade of gray when we talk to you, so, we're gonna get on the bus and leave now before we turn into mindless inbred stacks of donkey meat and fornicators of livestock, like you people."

I laughed further. The Perfects' expressions were _priceless. _This battle of comebacks was so worth it for that conclusion. Also, props to Lady. Never knew she could come up with insults like that.

I think I like Lady even more now.

* * *

The bus was a bit more cramped than I originally thought. Despite the nice seating, we were surprisingly close to other students. Too close for comfort. And, surprise surprise! We just _happened_ to get the same bus as the Perfects _and _Ash's asshole game.

Huh.

As if we _need _the extra drama.

The seating arrangements was me at the window seat, Marceline to my left, Fionna next to her, and Finn next to Fionna. On the other side of the aisle was Lordo with the window seat, Cake to his left along with Lady and Jake.

In front of us was Summer, Winter, Aiden, and Elliot, who all winked at us in synchronization as they sat down, which did significantly creep me out. Across from their aisle was Bubba and Bonnie alone. The row in front of them was Maja and Ashley (probably conspiring to take over the world) and Leon and Lily making out (ew). Behind us was Ash's dickwad gang.

So, yeah. Way too close for comfort.

Within a few minutes, Betty the history teacher stood in the front of the bus and told everyone how long they estimated the drive up there would be–three days, like Marcy said–and she said we'd be making a few rest stops along the way. After she finished talking, she sat down next to the driver and nodded at him.

He turned the key in the ignition and we were off.

Only half an hour in did I realize how Globdamn boring this trip was going to be if someone didn't want to spice things up. Which no one did. Marceline got flirted with by Ash (who I promptly glared away, the stubborn, disrespectful ass) and she received a few memes sent by Gina, Sabrina, and Katrina, the Triplets, but other than that, everything seemed fuzzy and unentertaining.

Betty was trying to lighten the mood by skipping through a bunch of radio stations when I heard a familiar song. Finn heard it, too, because he said, "Wait, no, no, Miss. Go back."

Hesitating a bit, Betty switched stations back to the one we had heard the song on. Familiarity rang quite true. My friends and I grinned at each other. The Sharpest Lives, My Chemical Romance.

We told Betty to turn it up, ignoring the nasty looks Lily sent us.

I started singing first.

_ "__Well it rains and it pours  
__When you're out on your own  
__If I crash on the couch  
__Can I sleep in my clothes?  
__'Cause I've spent the night dancing  
__I'm drunk, I suppose  
__If it looks like I'm laughing  
__I'm really just asking to leave"_

I tapped my fingers against my knee as I sang. I glanced over at Marceline to see what she was doing, but her eyes were far off and her lips were just parted in the most minuscule of ways.

Finn joined in with singing.

_"__This alone, you're in time for the show  
__You're the one that I need  
__I'm the one that you loathe  
__You can watch me corrode like a beast in repose  
__'Cause I love all the poison  
__Away with the boys in the band"_

Marceline was smiling faintly, bobbing her head slightly. Finn and i grinned at each other, then at Lordo and Jake.

_"__I've really been on a bender and it shows  
__So why don't you blow me a kiss before she goes?"  
_

The four of us sang, loudly, obnoxiously, _proudly_.

_"__Give me a shot to remember  
__And you can take all the pain away from me  
__A kiss and I will surrender  
__The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead  
__A light to burn all the empires  
__So bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be  
__In love with all of these vampires  
__So you can leave like the sane abandoned me"_

I sang alone.

_"__There's a place in the dark where the animals go  
__You can take off your skin in the cannibal glow"_

Fionna, Cake, and Lady sang with me.

_"__Juliet loves the beat and the lust it commands  
__Drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, Romeo"_

I looked at Marceline, who was biting her lip as she smiled. I leaned over and whispered, "Sing."

She was wide eyed before she nodded, complying.

It felt like heaven to sing with her. Beautiful Marceline, her voice as flawless, hoarse, smooth, and faultless as a cut diamond, was singing with me.

_"__I've really been on a bender and it shows  
__So why don't you blow me a kiss before she goes?"_

All eight of us together. Bouncing, jumping, whipping around in our seats. Marceline laughed next to me.

_"__Give me a shot to remember  
__And you can take all the pain away from me"_

Marcy and I turned to each other at the same time.

_"__A kiss and I will surrender  
__The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead"_

Marceline shook her head back and forth to the beat of the song, her midnight, inky hair lashing and whipping around with her.

_"__A light to burn all the empires  
__So bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be"_

We stared at each other again.

_"__In love with all of these vampires  
__So you can leave like the sane abandoned me"_

She stuck her tongue out through her teeth during the break. Then, all eight of our voices, clashing and filling the bus.

_"__Give me a shot to remember  
__And you can take all the pain away from me  
__A kiss and I will surrender  
__The sharpest lives are the deadliest to lead  
__A light to burn all the empires  
__So bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be  
__In love with all of these vampires  
__So you can leave like the sane abandoned me"_

By the time the song ended, each of us were out of breath, realizing just how much energy we'd just used. But, Glob, it was worth it. Finn and Jake were now bouncing up in down in their seats, pumped up. Lordo kept hitting the bus seat in front of him, much to the dismay of Bubba, mimicking the drums. Fionna, Cake, and Lady couldn't stop panting and grinning.

Marceline, on the other hand, looked so utterly jovial and happy and _amazing_. It lit up the bus. And though mostly everyone else was either cheering or glaring (former being the outcasts that knew Marcy, the sets of Twins, and Bubba, the latter being Ash's gang and the other Perfects), I was happy.

"That was _amazing_," Marcy said, her voice bubbly and energized as she shook her arms back and forth

I absentmindedly put an arm around her shoulders. I glanced up to see Betty smiling at us in the rearview mirror. I raised my eyebrows quickly at her. She shrugged back at me.

Marceline's breathing slowly returned to normal and she rested her head against me.

I sort of gaped, extremely happy and bewildered.

She hadn't held a grudge against me for the kiss, which I was grateful for (and wished to do over again). And nothing awkward came between us during the time the kiss had happened to now, which I considered progress. So she didn't hate me. (yay) And now her eyes were closing. She was falling asleep against me, and I felt my entire body tense up and turn to stone. If I made a wrong move, just _one _wrong move . . .

Before I could finish my thought, it hit me all too suddenly that I'd only _known _Marceline for around a month. Yes, I'd been kindasortamaybe stalking (PROTECTING) her for years before, but she . . . She barely knew _me_. Did she know how much I cared about her? The certain quirks everyone points out? Hell, did she even know my favorite color?

"Mmm, Marsh," she mumbled. "You're shaking . . . Stop moving . . . Not a nice pillow when you move . . ."

She readjusted her head against me. My pulse quickened.

"Marcy?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Hmm."

I noticed her indifferent answers and rolled my eyes. I moved my shoulder. "Sit up."

With a resounding groan, she sat, looking at me with a Marshall-are-you-serious-is-this-really-that-important-right-now look.

"What?"

I waited for a beat for her to fully return from her nap-world before asking, "What's my favorite color?"

Suddenly, her energy was back. Her face lit up again and her brilliant crimson eyes brightened like she'd just watched the creation of the universe unfold right before her. Like she just saw someone put the stars in the sky. I couldn't stop gazing at her.

"Red!" she beamed.

I stared at her, my breath suddenly shallow.

"You're right . . ."

She was extremely pleased with herself for a moment before her face twisted to concern at my reaction. "Marsh?"

I smiled, pulled her tighter, and looked back out the window. Reluctantly, she put her head back on my shoulder, but I could still see her furrowed brows in my peripheral vision.

I kept my eyes on the outside for fifteen minutes.

She guessed my favorite color first try . . . but really, I didn't even _have _a favorite color until she yelled out "red!" She was excited as hell, her features lifted like a little kid's, and she looked the happiest I'd ever seen her, even happier than that picture I'd seen of her and her mother. So I told her she was right, because in that moment, all I could see was the color of her eyes and all I could remember was the way her lips formed that word.

And then I just couldn't see red the same as I did before.

* * *

WHOA THAT WAS FUN TO WRITE!

I hope you were _paying attention_ to the mcr lyrics . . . which really relate to marcelee . . . which were also actually kinda hard to write, because, yeah, it's been years, but I'm still not over them and PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE

ew it's 2:55AM

Damn, guys, your reviews are the sweetest things ever! I love them! Reviews like these give me my powers!

Guest 1 - Aww, I love you too, you cutie! Thank you so much. And here it is, the new chapter as requested :D

Zack Clyde Von Crisst - ALWAYS REVIEW. Mwhahahaha! Oh, trust me. Bonnie's intentions will be revealed. All in good time, my friend, all in good time . . . *evil laughter continues* And, that's QUEEN that he's protecting, okay? (sarcasm) Hopefully I can slip in something to show that Marcy actually can take care of herself without her friends' protections (and has been doing so), but until then, Marshy will protect her from the evil botches. Haha, your positive reviewing is fantastic and always will be welcome. THANK YOU *heart*

LonelyQueen - Damn, girl, chill . . . lol jk, I'd have the same response if I were you :) you're so nice. Thank you for the review!

Guest 2 - Bless your soul. Someone who finally understands that I _kind of _ have a life to manage outside fanfiction. *whispers* a really stressful life . . . Still, I really appreciate you saying this story is awesome, but I know I can write much, much better, as I have with legitimate books, so . . . the best is yet to come (?) *epic brofist of epicness through the screen*

greenfun11 - Thank you! Gah, it's little comments like this that keep me going :D

NoWayOutFromThere - Awwwww, thank youuuu! You're really great, too! And do not apologize, sweetie. Here, have a cookie for being amazing *hands cookies*

RottingCow - Why thank you, my good man :)

HAPPY THOUGHT:

i'm sorry for the rupture  
in your peaceful, loving home  
i'm sorry for the shattering of a safe world  
i'm proud that you are the only one strong enough to put it back  
together now

your exuberance is legendary  
be aware  
be alive  
they cannot steal your radiance


	9. The Machines of War Will Fuel Both Sides

I'm upset again, so I started writing. And this thing happened.  
I'm so fucking tired.  
I hate my writing _so_ much right now. It's like . . . ugh I've written better and know I can write better UGH  
So it's a bad chappie.

Disclaimer: I realize that I don't have to put one of these every time i update, but then i get all antsy and worried and I end up doing one. So, nope. I don't own anything but a really old laptop with which I write

* * *

**_Marceline's POV_**

When my eyes opened and I was staring at the back of a torn pleather seat, I almost jumped back, alarmed. Then I relaxed and remembered that I was on a bus and we were on our way to our "field trip"? Which still irritated me because I still had no idea what my father had in store for us.

I rubbed my eyes and yawned. Stretching, I took in my surroundings.

The bus was empty aside from me. On my lap was a paper that read, _Marce. We wanted to wait until you woke up, but our friends are hungry, stubborn butts, so we're grabbing a quick bite to eat. We'll be back soon. XOXO Fionna._

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair, wincing when I felt a sensitive area on the side. I had been leaning my head against cold hard glass, which turned out to be a window, for a while and it left a sore spot on my scalp. Outside, I could see that it was sunset and all of the students were sitting at tables outside some shady diner.

My friends were the most . . . expressive, for lack of a better word, of all of them.

Cake seemed to be telling a wild story, her gestures wide and sporadic, her eyes enlarging when she got to what I assumed was the most dramatic parts. Around her, our other friends listened attentively, Lady rolling her eyes at some parts. It made me smile. Marshall was looking up at Cake happily. It made me glower.

It was only a few minutes I'd spent watching them converse when I heard the bus door open with a sharp hiss. I turned just in time to see who it was coming in. And he was probably the last person I wanted to see. Well, maybe third or fourth to last. (First: Ashley. Second: Ash. Third/Fourth: Marshall.)

I tried to close my eyes and face my head away, but he was apparently adamant to sit right down next to me. I groaned internally. Um, hello? That seat was obviously taken by my best friend.

"So you're awake," Bubba stated, fumbling with his fingers.

"Oh, am I?" I asked sarcastically. "That's funny, I thought this was all a dream."

He smiled, though there was no humor or happiness in it. He got right to the point, saying, "I wanted to talk to you about how I spoke to you the other day. That wasn't cool, and I'm sorry."

I glared at him out of the corner of my eye, softening only slightly with his apology. Still, I didn't say anything.

He continued, "It was just . . . Bonnie really is worried about you, Marceline. And she can get pretty persuasive."

I glared more. I sighed. "I get what you're trying to tell me, Bubba. But if that _harridan_ out there really, genuinely wanted to talk to me for even one small minute, she'd come and freaking talk to me."

"Marcel-"

"I don't want you to be the negotiator or ambassador or whatever the hell it is that you are in your little clique when it comes to her and I. If Bonnie actually wants to show concern for me, she should do it to my face."

He concurred. "Believe me, I agree. Since the first day of this school year, she's been acting like a child about you, and she's only continued to do so."

I snorted loudly. "And believe _me_ when I tell you that's how she always acts when she's butthurt."

He laughed a bit and put his hand on my knee. "I believe you."

I suddenly felt very awkward and uncomfortable with his hand placement, and shifted a bit to get further away from him. I pulled my flannel tighter to my body, trying to cover myself.

"I-"

The bus doors opened again, and Finn came sauntering in, his lips pouty as he teasingly said, "Your Majesty? I've come to retrieve you for your royal feast with the Vampire Knight-" His eyes fell on Bubba, and my strained expression, and his playfulness disappeared, replaced by suspicion. "Hey, Gumball."

Bubba gave a short, curt nod. "Finn."

Finn casually swaggered down the aisle towards us, crossing his arms when he got to our row. He waited for three full breaths before, "So are you gonna go, or?"

Bubba scrambled to his feet and slipped past Finn, who gave him an angry, leveled stare until he left the bus.

When he was gone, Finn smiled that hero's smile of his. "I swear, that guy has no life."

I snickered, gesturing to Bubba's unoccupied spot as an invitation for him to sit down. He did, but seemed a bit restless still. He wouldn't look in my direction.

"So . . ."

I raised an eyebrow. "You okay, Finn?" I bumped his shoulder. "Cat got your tongue?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Um . . ."

"What is it, Finn?"

He shut his eyes. "Marshall kissed you."

He said it like a statement. He knew it happened. I froze. Really? He wanted to talk about this? It wasn't exactly my favorite topic at the moment.

It's not like I didn't enjoy the kiss or anything, it was just . . . Marshall _pitied _me. That didn't really make me feel very good about myself, did it? Plus, I mean, okay. I've know the guy for _maybe_ a month. So it was a little weird. A little.

And . . . I thought about the kiss a lot.

A big part of me was still pissed at him for it, but I didn't want to give him the great satisfaction of seeing me angry. So I had pretended like all was well. I probably shouldn't have, but it was my _first kiss. _I kinda needed time to sort it all out. Faking it felt like it was the only way to go.

Marshall probably thought I was fine with what happened. That I was genuinely okay with it and let it go.

Ha.

I'm a really good actress.

I sighed at Finn. What point was there in denying it?

"Yeah . . ."

He opened his mouth. Shut it. Opened it again. "You know he doesn't mean you any harm, right?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I mean it, Marcy."

"Finn," I said sternly, "he said he only kissed me because I hadn't been kissed before."

I tried to not be upset that my friends even told him that in the first place. Thanks, girls. Nice to know you've always got my back.

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "And that matters to you because . . ?"

I felt my cheeks tinge red in the slightest.

"Marcy," he said with a sigh, "I wanna let you in on a little secret, okay?" He clasped his hands in front of him and looked at me though his head was turned down. "Marsh . . ." He exhaled. "It was a dare. We found out that day and we told Marshall to kiss you because, like, he _owes _us some dares. It was either he do that or we tell you some personal stuff about him. You can imagine what he'd rather do."

My mind went blank. A dare?

A dare.

"So, no, Marceline," Finn said. "It wasn't out of pity. I don't think it ever would have been."

I tried to wrap my head around that prospect. It was a dare. He didn't feel bad for me. A dare. He was just fulfilling his friends' wishes. A simple dare . . . It made so much more sense why it was so sudden and abrupt. Why his eyes were full of regret.

It pissed me off more.

"A _dare_?!" I asked. I pushed Finn off his seat. "You guys _dared _him to do that?!"

Finn looked up at me from his spot on the floor of the bus. He seemed relieved of something. Probably more happy that I was just angry instead of angry _and_ brooding.

"I can't–how could–did you–you just–UGH!"

Like a child throwing a tantrum, I stormed off the bus, my livid face flushed in rage. It hit me right after I got off the bus that I was acting just like Bonnie. But I didn't care. I marched right up to the tables my friends were at. Most of them looked pleased to see me. The exception was Fionna. She could always read me like a book. She saw the obvious indignation on my face.

"Hey, hey, Marceli-" Lordo started.

I pushed him by his head away from me. "Move."

He skirted around to the other side of the table with Jake and Marshall, evidently confused.

I stood in front of Cake, Lady, and Fionna. "We need to talk."

* * *

"He did _what_? For a _dare_?" Lady asked, pushing her blonde hair up on one side. "And you didn't _tell_ us?"

"It was only yesterday!" I defended. "Speaking of which, _how_ did he find out?"

Cake was quick to respond. "We didn't tell them, I swear!"

"Caaaaaaakkeee?" Fionna asked, uncertain. She moved to stand by me instead of her adoptive sister.

"Okay, fine!" Cake gave up (quite easily, actually). "I told them! But it was an accident! I'm sorry! They're just . . . Lordo is _so _persuasive."

Lady reached over from behind Cake and smacked her on the back of her head. Fionna paced away from Cake, exasperated. I sighed again and sat down on the sink counter. I scrunched up my nose. It smelled like sewage water in here. Maybe bringing them into the bathroom to "chat" was a bad idea.

Lifting my head up, I thought about the small drama we had going on, and what Maja had said to me those weeks ago. How she warned me, _threatened_ me. Perhaps I should have listened to her. Perhaps the Vampire Knights really were the bad boys who only brought trouble, who only always wore this facade.

But I knew that if I had listened to her, I never would have been this happy these past few weeks at school. Even if just now I wasn't.

"It's okay, Pie," I said, playing with the silver ring on my fourth finger. I flashed a quick, weak smile. "I know how you can't resist some good gossip."

Cake let out a breath of relief.

Fionna was still pacing. "I just can't believe that asshole kissed you! That's so creepy! Marshall's creepy!"

Lady cursed in Korean.

Now, I found this all hilarious because it's like, uh, hello? You guys were like, shipping us last month. And now suddenly it's creepy. Oh, I love my friends.

"Well . . ." Cake said fixing the pink bows in her browny-orange pigtails in the mirror. "Okay, he's not _that _creepy. I mean . . . I did manage to find out some stuff about him from Jake . . ."

Fionna appeared right next to her, intrigued. She leaned against the sink counter and squinted her eyes. "Go on."

Cake bit her lip, forcing back a grin. It set me on edge.

"I can't say."

Lady threw up her hand. "Oh, come _on_! You can't just lead us on like that! Bad show, Cakey, honestly . . ."

Cake waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, please, girl." Wickedly, her expression turned indifferent. "You'll find out."

I pushed myself off the sink counter. "I swear, Pinky Pie, if you're holding back some secret that they really _are _mass murderers and they're going to kill us all in our sleep tomorrow, I'll kill you again in hell."

"Hey," Cake said. She winked. "Vampires like you can't die."

* * *

We filed out of the bathroom after a long fifteen minute discussion about vampires. I found it funny that our conversation had switched from complaining about our stupid guy friends to mythological beings so quickly. Only my friends would do that. Regardless, I felt much, much better and way, way less angry. Sometimes, you just need a squad of girls who will agree with you about everything to talk to.

"He puts a hand on you, I'm killing him," Fionna mumbled when we reached the table.

Lady agreed, making a disgusted face.

"Are . . . you guys oka-" Marshall started, standing up to greet us.

I felt myself _almost _sneering like a bitch. I was still so fucking peeved at him. And I didn't want to pretend to be perfectly okay with him like I had done earlier.

"Stop talking," I said. I reached over and grabbed his plate of food. "Give me this."

He didn't put up a fight, and sat back down in his seat. I plopped down across from him, in between Fionna and Finn. They both winked at me, like the three of us were sharing some dark, clandestine secret.

_Losers, _I lovingly thought. Because, yes, I call people I care for 'losers.'

Lordo cleared his throat. "So how was the bathroom?"

Cake moaned. "it smelled like wet dog in there!"

"So it smelt like Jake's room?"

"HEY!" Jake defended. "That was not my fault! It only smelled like that because _you _put that raw chicken in the juice bucket!"

I tittered. Lady leaned in. "_This _sounds like a story."

Jake snorted. "Okay, sit the fuck down, shut the fuck up, because it _is _storytime, motherfucker." He paused. "Sorry for the language." He got erratic in his gestures. "Anyway! So _this _motherfucker right here goes out and buys a damn chicken, right? So I'm like. . ."

I tuned out and focused my attention back to Marshall's food in front of me. I picked up the hamburger and took a bite, not realizing just how hungry I was.

With my food still stuffed in my mouth, I looked up and saw him staring at me. Again. But this time, it was different. He looked distant and far away. A line formed between his brow. His lips turned downwards.

I ignored his gaze, swallowed my food, and took another bite.

* * *

not my best *sigh* see you next time, i guess

if you leave a review, thank you, it's very appreciated.

Zack Clyde Von Crisst- Yep, that's exactly what this chapter is for! I've noticed in the show Marceline tries to (sometimes poorly) conceal her feelings, so I tried to invoke that here. This chapter was originally intended to be part of the last one, but I was too upset with the last one to put it in. Also, I wasn't planning on writing a kiss. I wanted it to just be a flirty thing, but then I tested out writing a kiss and I WENT OVERBOARD, MY FRIEND. I WENT OVERBOARD. Then, I couldn't bring myself to delete it, so I just went with it :/ But do not worry! There will be _blood _with later, waaaaayyy later chapters. And, I was unsure what you meant about uploading the new chapter after December 20, so I just did it now . . . sorry.

HAPPY THOUGHT: (this one is probably my favorite)

a keen mind  
lovely lips forming words of holy prayers to peace  
you were robbed  
but they cannot take your grace, my love


	10. The Tragic Age

Hey, guys. I'm sorry this is so late. Like, really late. Originally, I wanted to post something around Christmas as a little gift from me to you (believe it or not, I've never celebrated any holidays or birthdays and have never given a gift), but I've been going in and out of a few hospitals for the past month. I won't lie, my mental health is getting worse and worse. It might get even more difficult to update chapters. Added to that, my son had to go into the ICU after I went to the hospital due to illness from being premature.

So a lot of shit is happening, guys.

But, I'm still here, and this is for you. And did you know that tomorrow will be the one year anniversary of this fic? Whoaaaaaa . . . HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, GUYS! LOVE YOU!

* * *

**_Marceline's POV_**

Marshall seemed to catch on pretty quickly how upset I was at him and kept his distance for the remainder of the day. I wanted to forgive him. I really did. But he stole my first kiss out of pity. How do you just get over something like that? Especially when it's one of your close friends. The boys didn't push me to forgive him and my girls didn't bring it up again. I was grateful, to say the least.

It was currently our second day on the way to my grandfather's house, and to be perfectly honest, I was beginning to feel antsy. If I didn't know what he had in store, who did? The teachers? Simon? My dad?

I groaned at the thought. Was Dad gonna try to do that whole "father-daughter bonding" crap again and try to "get to know me better" again? What would that make it, seven, eight times now? Stupid, stupid man. I couldn't blame him for trying to spend time with me, but with the rift in our relationship, it was kinda hard to take it lightly. In fact, it wasn't just a _rift_ in our relationship, it was a fucking _chasm_. After Momma died, he changed . . . But I can't really say I remember him much from before that.

Either way, I didn't really want to see him. Ever.

. . .

Even if he did feed me. And clothe me. And put several roofs over my head.

Glob, I'm starting to sound spoiled, aren't I? _Don't turn into Bonnie, don't turn into Bonnie, don't turn into Bonnie, _I told myself.

I had been staring at the pleather seat in front of me and resting my head on Fionna's shoulder when she shifted suddenly.

"Everything okay, Fi-Fi?" I asked, lacing my left hand with her right.

"Mhmm," she hummed. I heard a small thud as she pressed her forehead to the window. "I think it's been five years since I've been to the old manor."

I smiled, though it felt bittersweet. "What, you were eleven?"

"Twelve," she corrected. She shifted her shoulder again. "I'm older than you, remember Marcy?"

"Be quiet," I said, my smile becoming real. I hated the fact that she was older than me so much. She was the kind of person who liked to bring up the whole "Oh, I'm older than you and you have to respect your elders" thing whenever we messed around.

"Speaking of which," she said, "it's November, Marcy. Your birthday is next month."

I pursed my lips. My birthday. That's right. That's a thing. And it's coming up quick.

My birthday was never a fun topic for me. Why? Well, Dad gets this big old idea in his head that since it's my birthday, suddenly I'm his perfect princess and we're all good and he has the damn right to be near me. So my birthdays normally end up with him showing up out of the blue and an argument between us and no actual _happiness_ involved.

December 8th was not a good day for me, ever. Except, maybe once.

I remembered one day Bonnie and the girls had surprised me with the tiniest little party when I was eleven. I hadn't been expecting a party, or any recognition at all, for that matter, but they had been planning it for weeks. It was at my house, right in the center of the living room where they had set up games and junk food and four gifts for me. We roasted marshmallows over ice cream soaked in Dad's Bacardi. It was so small, intimate, that I had been smiling for hours.

And then Dad showed up. But you know what? Bonnie didn't let him _touch _me. She marched right up to him and sassily put a hand on her hip. Then, she jutted her finger at him and scolded him for not coming sooner. He protested, but she insisted that he was an asshole. Then she proceeded to tell him to get the hell out and that he had no place there. She slammed the door and locked it the second he'd stepped out.

And then she had turned around with the grace of a gazelle, popped some bubblegum in her mouth, and sat down on the living room floor with the rest of us again. Fionna clapped her on the back, Lady clung to her arm, and Cake gushed about how awesome she was.

But the entire time they were praising her, she was looking at me, never breaking eye contact. And she smiled this soft smile that I had memorized by the end of that night.

Glob, Bonnie was amazing.

Was . . .

But the point was, ever since then I made sure to remember each of their birthdays. Cake was March 22nd, Bonnie was June 12th, Fionna was July 30th, and Lady was October 3rd. It wasn't like I didn't remember them before, it was just that after that party, I had begun eagerly awaiting those dates. And we spent each of them together. Except, Bonnie's didn't last long . . .

"Helllooooo?" Fionna asked. "Oh no, did you fade off into Marceline-World again? Damn, Queen. I am personally offended by this."

I chuckled. "Sorry, babe."

"You are so not sorry," she said, mocking sadness.

I scoffed. "And how would you know if I'm sorry or not?"

She pretended to sound smug. "I have my ways."

"Would those ways include pissing me off?" I asked playfully.

Before she could respond, there was a grumpy boyish voice beside me. "Could you guys, like, _not _start talking randomly at two in the morning?" Lordo asked.

He was curled up in a ball on our seat, using my right forearm as a pillow and using Finn's lap to rest his feet. Finn had fallen asleep on top of his legs, and was drooling on his calves, which I found to be both really cute and really funny. On the other side of the aisle, Cake was leaning on Lady, Lady leaning on Jake, and Jake leaning on Marshall. I thought it was just a little bit adorable. Marshall's eyelashes kept fluttering, so I could tell he was still awake, just staring out the window. And, whoa, he has really long eyelashes. Do girls even have eyelashes that long?

I mentally shook my head. _Focus, Marceline,_ I thought to myself.

I looked down at Lordo, smiling. "No problem."

"Good, good . . ." he whispered before dozing off again.

Fionna moved her arm again to catch my attention. "He's right, though. It's two. You should get some rest."

I pouted, though since my head was still on her shoulder I doubted she could see.

"Please?" she pleaded. "For me?"

I sighed, defeated. I mumbled out a "fine," and repositioned myself so that I could rest comfortably. When I closed my eyes, I fully realized just how tired I was.

"Love you, Marceline," was the last thing I heard Fionna say before I let sleep takeover.

* * *

My eyes snapped open when the bus jerked to a halt. My face had pressed against the seat in front of me and my head slammed into it. Fionna stifled a chuckle next to me.

I tried to adjust my eyes to the light of day. Was it day three already?

Betty stood at the front of the bus. "All right, everyone. We'll be coming up on the Abadeer Mansion in a few hours, but since you all have been so lovely on the trip here, we've decided to make a rest stop here at the Abadeer Mall."

My heart skipped about ten beats. The Abadeer Mall? My mall? I hadn't been there in what felt like ages. How were the girls in Marceline's Closet doing?

"We'll only be here for three hours, though, so make it count!" Betty concluded.

Almost all of the other kids, including the Perfects, excluding Ash's crew, stood the minute the bus doors opened and filed out, all chatting away like harpies. I looked around at my friends to see if any of them were interested in leaving as well, but it seemed like they were still just trying to wake up in the first place.

I did, however, see Marshall and Jake talking in hushed whispers closely, looking around suspiciously, too. Jake looked serious (for once!) and Marshall looked painfully strained. I wanted to go over there and console him, but fought the urge, though it was difficult. It was like resisting the instinct to brush away the invisible hair that fell on your skin that felt like a spider.

I averted my gaze before either of them could notice.

Fionna nudged me. "Wanna go check it out?"

Finn's head shot up from his droopy, slouched position. "I DO!"

Lordo pressed his palms over his ears and squeezed his eyes. Then he reached up to cover Finn's mouth. "Shh. Finn. Please. Not so loud."

I giggled at him. If I didn't know any better, it would've seemed that he had a hangover. I bounced my right leg, making Lordo groan and sit up straight.

He pouted at me. "Do I _have _to go?"

I ruffled his jet black hair and smiled sweetly. "Yes. Don't complain."

He looked on the verge of tears and groaned in agony again, putting his forehead on the seat in front of us. I laughed again, loudly this time. What can I say? I love seeing people miserable and in pain. (Joking).

That's when I saw Ash come into view. He put his hand on the back of our seat and leaned towards me, smiling in a way that could only be described as creepy and perverted. His friends stood behind him in a supportive way, all grinning like they were wolves preparing to feast.

"So we're at a mall now," Ash said.

I snorted and rolled my eyes. Yeah, no shit, Sherlock. Fucking idiot.

"I was thinking," he said, turning his head casually, "you might need a date. Someone to, you know, _take care _of you."

I shuddered. I did not want to know at _all _what "take care of" meant to him.

"She doesn't need anyone to take care of her," Fionna stated, her arm over the side of our seat. She was glaring daggers at Ash. "Maybe you could find someone a little more pathetic and shallow to fit your tastes. Like Ashley."

Ash tittered and I found the sound making my stomach churn. I hated him.

"Listen, whore, blondie, whatev-"

"Don't call her that!" Finn said defiantly. "Don't do anything. Just leave before you make things harder for yourself and-" He glanced down at Ash's crotch. "-your future children."

"Are you insulting me, pretty boy?" Ash asked, his "playfulness" gone.

Finn stood, his face becoming stone cold. "I could do a lot worse to you, fuckboy."

"Finn!" I called, standing as well. Fionna and the others' attention had been completely captured by us. I put a hand on his arm. "He's not worth it," I whispered in his ear. Finn relaxed only in the slightest. I turned to look at Ash. "If I come with you, will you leave them alone?"

There was a round of "Marceline, don't!" from my friends, but I didn't care. I had already dug myself into a deep hole with the Perfects, what with that stupid fucking deal and all, might as well sacrifice myself to Ash now, too.

I silenced my friends and looked Ash in the eyes. "Will you?" I asked again.

He pondered, though I couldn't tell if it was real or not. Then he looked at me in a way that sent chills down my spine, though not in a good way. Not in the way Marshall could.

"Depends on what you give me," he said.

I almost heaved at the thought. Fionna's jaw dropped, Lordo fumed, Jake's hands balled into fists, and Cake and Lady were staring Ash down. They were all thinking the exact same thing as me. My face contorted again. That was just _revolting_.

"Enough!" Marshall yelled. He pushed past everyone to stand in front of Ash and gave him the blackest look I'd ever seen. His breathing had labored and I could tell he was angry. "You lay one hand on her and see what happens," he threatened, voice dripping venom.

Ash didn't reply, instead looking at me, my _body_.

"Make your decision, Ash!" Marshall encouraged. "I'm sure as hell fine with either way."

Still no response. I was gaping at Marshall, but the others didn't seem fazed by his reaction. Why?

"You can either walk off bus and go your own way," Marshall continued, "or you can be sent to the hospital with each and every one of your damn bones broken, laying in a pool of your own fucking blood. Choose, Ash."

For some reason, I got the hint that Ash had heard this before, which was pretty unnerving. I remembered that the reason the Vampire Knights had gotten their fame was because of all the fights they got in with Ash, but I never really understood why. Yeah, Ash was a fucking dick, but that didn't mean it was right to just go around randomly beating people up. So the question was: what happened each time that provoked the Vampire Knights so much that they felt the need to practically start a war with Ash's gang? Something I should probably ask Marshall later . . . Or maybe Jake instead.

Ash fixed the collar on his shirt and listed his head. His friends' faces fell, like they were disappointed that Ash hadn't gotten the shit beaten out of him. He bumped into Marshall's shoulder forcefully as he passed and whispered something I couldn't hear. Apparently Lady did, because she clamped her hand over her mouth in shock.

Marshall's jaw clenched. I saw murder in his eyes.

"Hey, Ash."

The next thing I knew, Ash had been punched so hard he reeled back and fell to the ground with a yelp. Marshall took another step forward, but Jake and Finn grabbed both of his arms.

"Not now," Finn murmured in his ear.

Lordo crossed his arms and glared at the rest of Ash's crew, daring them to make some sort of move. They looked utterly terrified and ran past the boys to Ash's side. Hah. Cowards.

When Ash stood, blood was running from his nose and his lip had been split. _Nice punch, Marsh_, I thought.

"You're gonna regret that, Pierce!" Ash said, though the threat sounded more like a weak insult. "I'm gonna get you!"

"I'll be waiting," Marshall replied, glowering at Ash as he left.

I stepped out into the aisle with them, confusion probably written all along my face. Marshall wouldn't meet my eyes, but Cake did. She raised her eyebrows and looked both impressed and shocked.

"He'll be okay," Lordo said to me, though it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. "He will."

Marshall stopped staring down the back of Ash's head and sat down next to Lady, running a hand through his hair. Lady comfortingly rubbed his back.

"So," she started, placing her hand on his arm, "anyone still want to go to the mall?"

* * *

We split up, me taking Finn, Lordo, and Jake, and Fionna taking Lady, Cake, and Marshall. We figured it was best that he have some "feminine energy," or whatever Lady called it, around him to cheer him up and cool his anger. Meanwhile, I could show the boys around. I was kind of a win-win.

"Oh my Glob," Finn said. "We are going in there. We are so going in there."

I followed his eyes and saw that he was staring at the one and only Marceline's Closet. Technically it was the first one ever made, as my grandfather had insisted it be near his house, and some of my favorite girls in the world worked there.

"Marcy," Finn pleaded. He tugged on my jacket twice. "Marcy, please. Let's go in. Please."

I reached over and took a bite from Jake's ice cream, much to his dismay, and checked the time on my phone. We still had one hour in the mall. We could definitely check out my store. Besides, there were people in there I wanted to see.

I grabbed Finn's wrist, and, with a devilish smirk, tugged him inside.

It was the exact same way I had designed it.

The floor was a very bright white, due to the the lights we had installed, and lit up the entire store. The ceiling was still pitch black and glossy, so it reflected the illumination of the floor. The wall were gray and had all six of my framed album posters up, Glob Save the Vampire Queen, Tensioned, A Life on Standby, Manifested Equilibrium, and Fierce Angel Presents Angels Fall. Other pictures of stuff I liked decorated the small moldings on the floor in perfect square pictures. Korrasami was there, my favorite bands were there, different pictures of roses and things in red. I love red.

In the walls were all of the shoes and accessories and in the center was the racks of clothes. I owned all of them. I designed all of them. It felt so good to be home. In the far back where the checkout and dressing rooms were, I heard four sharp, _off_ girlish giggles. I smiled. I really, really missed them.

Ava, Eva, Teva, and Lava all came rushing towards me. They engulfed me in a group hug that lasted longer than I had intended, but was welcome nonetheless. Eva pulled away first and put her dark pink hair into a ponytail. I laughed and told her it looked good. Lava's bright indigo hair came into view as she fixed Teva's black hair. Ava readjusted her purple bandana over her blonde hair. The lights of the floor made their skin glow green, blue, and purple.

Though they could hear me, I signed to them, knowing it was their preferred form of communication, saying, 'I've missed you guys.' I laughed and added, 'Bikini Babes.'

Teva signed back, 'Where have you been?'

'Doing school,' I signed, showing distasted.

Eva giddily bounced up and down. 'How long are you going to be here for?'

I signed, 'Weeks. Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time to catch up.'

Lava signed back, 'We better.'

Ava looked at my friends. 'And who are these hotties?'

I rolled my eyes. Ava had always gone straight for the boys. 'Finn, Jake, and Lordo.' When I saw the mischievous look in her eye, and Eva winking, I signed, 'But they have girlfriends!'

Ava seemed crestfallen, but it wasn't like I had lied. Not entirely, at least.

'We don't want to keep you,' Teva signed. 'Go ahead and look around. We'll wait in the back.'

We all hugged once more, and they ran to the back of the store. I sighed wistfully. I loved those girls.

Jake appeared beside me as we all started walking around. We weren't necessarily browsing, but rather just passing the time. It was nice. "So . . . What was that all about?" he asked.

I smiled. "Those, my friend, are the Bikini Babes."

"Bikini Babes?" Lordo asked, mildly put off by their title.

I laughed. "Yep! They're the four daughters of a . . ." I faltered. "An old friend, long gone. That little one with the pink hair? That's Eva, the youngest. Next is Ava, the one with the bandana. Then it's Lava, in the neon. The oldest is the black haired one in white, Teva, as you could probably tell by her demeanor."

"And why are they called Bikini Babes again?" Finn asked.

"Because when their father died, they danced at beaches and parties in bathing suits to get money. Except Ava, actually. She wore a one piece." I shuffled through some t-shirts on the rack as the boys also began exploring. "They're mute and it was really hard for them to get jobs. So," I said, pulling out a pair of red and black checkered jeans. Designing those was a trip. "I offered them jobs. I was very little, maybe around six. But they knew me and my dad. They accepted instantly and have been working here ever since. I even built a house for them on the property of my grandfather's mansion."

"Oh, yes, thanks for the reminder that you're rich as dicks," Jake said.

"Stop it," I said with a smile.

I rounded the corner and ran into Lordo, of all the boys, holding up a pair of what I could guess was seven inch heels. "Huh," he muttered. "You wear these, Marceline?"

I rolled my eyes. Hardly. On occasion, yes, I wore heels, but definitely not those ones. Had I even designed those? I didn't think so. What were they even doing in my store? Ugh, I hate mall shoppers.

"Not those heels in particular," I responded, my tone flat but amused.

"Those things look like walking death traps," Finn commented.

"Oh yeah?" Lordo asked. A sly grin appeared on his face. "Why don't you find out firsthand, then?"

Finn protested, his face quickly turning pale, but somehow, some way, we convinced him to try them on. And they indeed did look like walking death traps. He sat on the bench with a huff, taking off his converse and socks to replace them with the heels. He held my hand and the wall in order to stand up straight.

"Don't leave me!" he said panicked as I let go of his hand and backed away. He shrieked as he looked down, his knees wobbling.

"Go on, try to walk," I encouraged, gesturing around.

His ankle bent awkwardly and he fell to the floor with the first step. We were laughing our asses off. He looked up at us, his face red and strained. "How do you ladies do it?"

"Who said heels were only for women?" I countered, raising a brow.

"I'm with Marcy on this one!" Jake exclaimed.

He stood up, helped Finn out of the heels, put them on, and strutted around like he had been doing it his whole life. Somehow this was even funnier than Finn falling. Jake started to pose, too, like he was a model on a runway. He sauntered around, looking at us over his shoulder, raising his arms up, etc. It was hilarious. Lordo ran around and found another pair of heels and put them on, joining Jake in their fashion show.

"We better work the hallway like a runway," he sang.

It was so funny, I lost track of how long Finn and I had been sitting their laughing.

Suddenly, I heard someone scream, "UGH! Have you ever even _worked _before? I cannot understand you! Why can't you idiots just talk like normal people!"

I stopped laughing abruptly, knowing exactly who had said that. I looked around the store, trying to find her, but when I did she was leaving with her friends. Bonnie stood gaping at the Bikini Babes, before reluctantly turning and following Ashley. It infuriated me. How _dare _she come into _my _store, bring my enemy and let her insult _my _friends!

I jogged over to the girls who had collapsed on the ground, telling the boys to stay back. Eva and Lava were crying, Ava sobbing though no tears came, and Teva with her arms around all of them, trying to comfort her little sisters. It broke my heart. They had always been so self conscious of their muteness. How could Ashley be so cruel? How could Bonnie just sit there and not do anything? She _knew _the Bikini Babes!

"Traitor," I whispered to myself. Glob fucking dammit, Bonnie.

I crouched on the ground next to the Bikini Babes, wiping their tears and trying to comfort them.

"Hey," I said forcefully so that they'd all look at me. I both signed and slowly said, "You are more normal than _any other asshole in this mall_, okay? You are beautiful and you are normal."

They each looked at me hopefully. Hopeful for what, I didn't know, but it was certainly there. It made me feel a bit better about the whole situation. Eva smiled that sweet smile of hers and Lava's eyes shined. Ava grabbed my hand with a vicelike grip. Teva signed, 'We love you, Queen.'

I smiled at them and hoped it looked as sincere as I felt. I heard the door to the store open and turned to see the boys greeting Marshall, Cake, Lady, and Fionna.

Lady instantly noticed the girls on the floor, Cake next. Fionna and Cake ran to them whereas Lady's brows furrowed and she walked slowly. "Sweeties . . ." she whispered.

Cake took Eva's hands in her own and Eva started crying again. "Oh, baby girl, it's okay."

Fionna looked at me. "Why don't you go talk to the boys?" she suggested. "We can take care of them."

I nodded and stood to go speak to the Vampire Knights, a heaviness in my step. I was so, so pissed off.

"What happened?" Marshall asked.

I forgot all about the anger I felt towards him and directed it entirely to the Perfects. "I fucking hate Ashley," I said. I hoped Finn, Jake, and Lordo had seen what had happened and would explain for me. I was too fucking pissed.

Luckily, Lordo did explain, resulting in Marshall looking utterly distraught.

"Marceline," he said. "I'm so sorry."

Unwillingly, I buckled under the pressure of his gaze and collapsed against him. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my head. I held him as tight as I could, trying to release all the anger I was feeling. At my dad, at Ash, at the Perfects.

And at Marshall Fucking Lee Pierce.

* * *

And that is a wrap! Hope you like it. I also realized last night that the reason these chapters have been so shitty is because I write them at like 1AM. This time I wrote it at 3PM.

My friend Sahalia and I were talking today and she said that her face canon for irl Marshall was a cross between Marlon Brando and Gerard Way, which is like ? Kinda? Is that even a thing? DOES SUCH A THING EXIST?

Guest 1- well, here it is! Just for you ;)

rainbowlopez- I'm really glad you swore because no one has swore in a review yet. YES. The song is called 'The Sharpest Lives' by My Chemical Romance (AKA: one of the best bands ever) on their album 'The Black Parade.' Glad you like it!

Sukaretto20- Thank you very much, anon!

lolicat52- Thank you! I try really hard, and think it's good when I write it, but once I go back and read it i see just how freaking corny and terrible it was, usually because I've only wrote chapters of this when I'm tired. Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Guest 2- RIGHT?! Like, yes, Finn, you go! Push her down those stairs!

Guest 3- Thank you, lovely guest for your encouragement :)

HAPPY THOUGHT:

you tried your best  
you are not bad for doing what is right to recover  
you deserve it  
you need help as much as everyone else does


	11. The Evanescent Via Dolorosa

Surprise. Chapter 11 is here already, because ofc I just want to write for you guys so much.

Haha, no. I can't sleep.

I went to see the Sherlock Christmas special in theaters today, and in the middle of it some lady had her phone out and this guy behind us yelled "TURN OFF YOUR FUCKING PHONE" and this lady stood up and screamed "ANARCHY" and thrEW HER PHONE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE GUY'S VOICE AND IT HIT SOMEONE AND I LAUGHED SO HARD.

Sorry, I just had to share that. How was your day? Let me know in a review ;) I actually do read them, guys.

Btw, chapter titles are v important.

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Anything. Seriously. I'm homeless. This laptop isn't even mine. I stole it. Stole the fanfic, too. All of it.

* * *

**_Marshall Lee's POV_**

So the ride to the mansion was a trip.

After we had finished up at the mall, we entered the bus just to be met with complete chaos. The Perfects and Ash's gang were arguing big time. Maja had even threatened to tear off one of Ash's arms if he didn't shut up about something. Bonnie kept repeating "STOP TALKING ABOUT HER LIKE THAT" over and over to one of his friends, Xergiok, who didn't seem to stop pestering her. Ashley got so frustrated she screamed at the top of her lungs. Lily Simran Prices and Leon Sheldon Preiss said "OH MY GLOB" after everything a member of Ash's crew said anything. The only people who seemed to not be involved were Summer, Winter, Aiden, Elliot, and Bubba, who was trying to calm down the furious girls in his clique.

They didn't let up once we started driving again either, and Marceline had gotten so frustrated she grabbed Lady's and Cake's hand and moved to sit by the two sets of twins. She beckoned Fionna over, but the blonde refused and remained sitting by me. Finn didn't move either, and sat being comforted by Jake and Lordo. I knew why.

Summer.

He said he was over it years ago, but by the look on his face now he didn't seem all right.

Fionna sighed next to me. I could see she was staring at Aiden and it clicked. I remembered hearing about them dating a while back, but Aiden only told me small details.

"You okay?" I asked her nonchalantly, not making eye contact. Finn had always liked to be comforted without making eye contact, so I assumed it would be good to use that tactic here, too.

She wiped her palms on her jeans, then fidgeted with a loose thread hanging from her blue tank top, pausing and zipping up her white hoodie. If we were under any other circumstances, I would've laughed at her cute nervousness. But we weren't, so I kept my face straight.

"Yeah," she muttered. It was hard to hear her over all of the commotion. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You'll have to forgive me, Blue, but that wasn't too convincing," I said.

She raised an eyebrow, but we still didn't make eye contact as she surveyed the chaotic bus. "'Blue'?"

"Yeah," I said. "Blue. You wear it like, literally all the time, like Finny-Boy over there." I lifted my chin at Finn, who had just dodged Maja's shoe as she hurled it at Ash. Then I added, "Plus you're sad, so . . ."

She shook her head. "I still don't know what went wrong between us."

"Aiden?" I asked, solely for the purpose of confirmation.

"Yes," she said softly. "Aiden." She stared at Bonnie, still yelling her head off. "I just . . . One day, we just didn't click, and . . . I don't remember if one of us suggested it, or maybe it was just some unspoken agreement, but we called it off. I stayed up so many nights trying to figure out what I had done, what led us to that point. I don't know." She played with her fingers in her lap, looking at Bubba now. "I guess I was just a shitty girlfriend."

I dismissed her comment with the wave of my hand. "Nonsense, Blue."

"Huh?" she asked, her head tilting towards me.

"You aren't a shitty girlfriend. At least, you weren't," I said with a sigh. "And I don't know you as a girlfriend. I know you as a friend. And being a girlfriend and being a friend are two completely different things more similar than you think. I've had time to chill with you and I can see pretty damn clearly that you would make some hella rad dude really happy someday."

It took her a moment, but a genuine smile did flicker across her lips. "Thanks, Marsh."

I reached my hand up and tugged on one of the ears of the bunny hat she had gotten as a gift from Finn that day. Finn had a matching one, except they were little bear nubs instead of bunny ears. She had squealed higher than I thought she ever would. The rest of us had all exchanged knowing looks when he gave it to her.

"Hey!" she protested, reaching up and swatting my hand away.

I laughed at her. I pointed at the hat. "You know, that's cute. I like that."

She blushed and looked over at Finn, who wore his matching one. "I like it, too," she murmured.

I bit my lip and tried not to smile.

* * *

Thankfully the screaming in the bus had died down by the time we had gotten to the manor, mostly because everyone was in awe at Marceline's grandfather's house. I'll be honest, it was huge. Like, bigger than Marcy's house huge. There was a gray winding driveway that led to a black gate with the word 'Abadeer' printed along it and was long enough that the mansion was on a hill, but short enough that everyone below could see it. It looked like it had several window and was painted dark red and black.

I grinned. Just like Marceline.

Betty had instructed us to get off the bus, respectfully greet and thank "Mr. Abadeer," then go off to pick our houses. Yes, apparently there were actual houses or something in their backyard, which also connected to a beach. Okay, so, seriously, how loaded are the Abadeers? Also, I guessed we didn't have to take our bags and stuff, as some people would bring it to us.

Betty also said that it would only be proper if Marceline went first.

When Marceline stepped off the bus, she took a big, deep breath, like she was afraid of what could happen. I nudged her and told her everything would go smoothly, but only managed a small, fake smile from her. I didn't understand.

But, then again I didn't really understand _Marceline _in the first place, so . . .

I thought we were okay after the kiss. I thought she had forgiven me. I thought that we could really, honestly put it behind us. And then she just suddenly has all this anger towards me and steals my food sand stays away from me for a day. I got the vibes that she was upset pretty clearly, but was still questioning how I hadn't seen it coming. Had I read her wrong? Probably. But then, after that, she acts all concerned for me when I threatened Ash, which is really confusing. Then at her store, she hugged me. _Hugged _me. _She_ hugged _me_. Then once we got back on the bus, she didn't say anything to me.

So confusion and not being able to understand her was putting it very mildly.

And to add to this bewilderment and incomprehensiveness? She slipped her hand into mine as we made the long trek up the driveway. I didn't know if she was looking for support or whatever, but I didn't complain.

And I was still confused as fuck.

At the top of the driveway stood a tall aged man with graying hair and piercing red eyes. It was the eyes (and the sense of self-entitlement) that gave it away. This was Marceline's grandfather.

"My beautiful granddaughter," he greeted, pulling her into a stiff, awkward hug.

She didn't return the embrace. "Hi, Grandpa."

"The maids have already prepped your room for your friends. You do remember where it is, don't you?"

She scrunched up her nose. "Yes, thank you, Grandpa, but . . . I don't like having the maids work while I'm here. Would you mind giving them time off while I visit?"

His expression was strained. "Er, I don't think I can do that. But I can ask for them to steer clear of your floor."

She nodded solemnly. "Yes, Grandpa. Thank you, Grandpa."

His simply nodded at her.

As she swiped a card to open the gates, I muttered, "What, no hello? Geez, he's friendly."

This time I did get a full smile from Marceline and even a small chuckle. "Yes, he's pretty odd. It's been sixteen years and I still don't get him."

"Guy like that?" I rhetorically asked as we made our way to the front door. "You never will."

She laughed and it felt like the world had been lifted off my shoulders. So she was happy. For now, at least.

When we entered the Abadeer mansion, was awestruck and had to stand still and take in everything that was around me for a moment. I had never seen a house so damn massive. How much money did this plot of land even cost?

"Did you say you had your own floor?" I asked.

Her smile fell. "Um, yeah, I do. It's basically just one really big room with walls and doors dividing each other. You know how in sleazy hotels some of the rooms are connected by doors? That's pretty much what my floor is. I don't . . ." her voice faltered and she frowned. "I don't think I've ever really used those other rooms."

"Well," I started, trying to stay optimistic for her sake. "I guess today they will."

* * *

"A _concert_?" Marceline asked incredulously. "You want us to do a _concert?_"

"Now, Marceline, I know this is quite sudden, but what with all the extra space in the backyard, we figured it would be good to hold a party there tonight. And what's a party without music?" Mr. Abadeer explained.

I felt myself cringing at his words.

"Grandpa, the girls and I can't play tonight, even with the spare instruments you have up here. We can't just play-"

I spoke before I could think about it. "We'll do it."

Marceline pause and looked at me. "You?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. Give us some material and we can cover for you."

It wasn't like she hadn't heard us play before, because she had, on several occasions. We'd even done covers of some of her songs before. And we played well last minute or in front of a large crowd. With some tweaking to the girls' instruments, I'd bet my life that we could play those well, too.

"I . . . suppose that could work," Marceline said. When she looked to Mr. Abadeer, he nodded once, but it really just looked like a short bow. "Okay . . . Okay, wow. I guess . . . I guess I'll have to go get some of my material and . . . teach you?"

I shook my head with a smirk. "No need. We catch on pretty quick."

She still looked a little shocked. "Okay, I . . . I'll go find some."

She took off up the stairs to her room (or one of them) and I heard her open up one of her bags, leaving me alone with her grandpa. Now, there wasn't anything necessarily _wrong _with Mr. Abadeer, it was that he was just so unexplainably creepy. Maybe it was the way the corners of his mouth always tilted upwards, or the way his pupils always seemed to be dilated, or . . .

Wait a minute. I read somewhere that your pupils expand around 50% when you're looking at someone you love. Mr. Abadeer obviously didn't love me, so . . . Did that rule also apply to possessions? Materialistic love? If that was the case, it would explain why everything seemed to go _too wide _on his face. And it also made him ten times creepier. All he saw when he looked around was the money he had made to get her, and _that _was what he loved and that . . . that was just something too unsettling to comprehend.

And this guy was Marceline's grandfather. Wasn't she, like, the most generous girl on the planet? And she was related to _this _guy?

Genetics are weird.

I drummed my fingers against my legs. Waiting for Marceline to come down was getting awfully dull, and increasingly awkward. Mr. Abadeer's body hadn't moved, but he was gazing up and down the walls of his mansion, like he was gonna have sex with it or something later.

Wait.

Ew.

Gross thought. Forget I said that.

The point was, it was getting more and more uncomfortable for me.

"Don't hurt her," Mr. Abadeer said suddenly, still staring at the walls.

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"She adores you."

What?

"_What?_"

"She likes you, kid. I can tell. And that girl is my world, so if you hurt her, I swear on my mother's grave that I will end you."

Oh, great. First threats from Ashley back when we were kids, then threats from Ash, not threats from a fucking eighty year old wrinkly sack of pale potatoes. Life with Marceline Abadeer was getting to be pretty damn strange.

"You have my word, sir," I said. "I won't hurt her. Ever."

With the rocky road that was Marceline and my relationship, I hoped I could live by that promise.

* * *

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, GUYS! I KNOW I SAID IT LAST CHAPTER, BUT I'M SAYING IT AGAIN NOW! LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Super short, but it's buildup for the next chapter, which will be v emotional, js. Sneak preview: Lyrics. Instruments. Concert. Marceline. Apple. Concert. Bonnie. Crying. Confession. Concert. Unhappiness. Concert. Marshall. Door. Crying.

So, yeah, look forward to that.

Well, I'm off to try and get some rest. You should, too, if it's late and you have things to do tomorrow XOXO

HAPPY THOUGHT:

because in the greatest form of simplicity  
you will catch your demons  
and turn them into angels  
to resemble you  
and how you never let the poison soak


	12. Angelic War

I firmly believe that everyone in Adventure Time is bisexual. Who's with me?  
Okay everybody, here I am back with another chapter that I've been thinking about since basically the beginning of the fanfic. No, seriously. I've been waiting for this moment for so long. And it may be a little premature, but, hey, this is the twelfth chapter, people! Time for some character development!  
Also, apologies in advance for any mood swings that occur in this chapter. My medications changed and . . . yeah, sometimes when I have mood swings, the characters have mood swings too. Sorry c:

Disclaimer: I do not own Adventure Time, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, or Panic! At the Disco. I would really, really like to, though.

* * *

_**Marshall Lee's POV**_

"So, you're gonna do a concert tonight," Fionna said, kicking her feet against the speaker she was seated on.

I was tempted to push her off the speaker, as she could easily damage it, but fought the urge. "Uh, apparently, yes," I said, picking up the guitars and bass cases Marceline had told us we were going to use. Why the hell was the bass so heavy, too? Did she have an axe in there or something?

"And Marceline agreed to this?"

I sighed as I set the cases down and opened them. "Yes."

"Do you even have any material?!"

"Yes!" I groaned out. "I mean, no! Yes! Wait." I sighed. "Marceline is looking for something for us to play. She said she had some stuff and was going to go look for it."

It had been two hours since she had gone upstairs to her floor to find something to play. Our friends aside from Fionna went up with her and were unpacking our bags wherever the hell they wanted us to sleep. Fionna said she wanted to stay with me to help set up the stage, but she sure as hell wasn't _doing _anything to help. She just sat there asking questions.

The "stage" was actually pretty small and of cheap quality, which was surprising given the fact that their backyard was huge and the Abadeers were filthy rich. Setting up all of the instruments and such was easy enough, even though I wasn't really familiar with the rich-kid brands she used. Still, doing it all singlehandedly was pretty tiring. The Triplets–Gina, Sabrina, and Katrina–came by to ask us what we were doing, and when they offered to help, Fionna pushed them away, saying, "Oh, no, Marshall's got it covered."

No, Fionna. I do not have it covered.

"Are you going to help at all?" I asked, probably sounding more upset than I actually was. "Or are you just gonna sit there on your ass and ask me stupid questions all day?"

She crossed her arms and squinted, though it wasn't from the sunset. "You do realize what I'm doing, don't you?"

I plugged the guitar into the amp. I bunched my lips to one side. "Sorry, hun. Can't see how doing jack shit actually qualifies as "doing" anything in the first place."

She rolled her eyes. "You are so similar," she muttered. Then, louder, she said, "Believe it or not, Marsh, I'm looking out for you."

"What?" I asked incredulously, peering up at her from below her. Was Fionna going insane or was it just me?

She lifted her chin in the direction my back was to, then the direction to the side of me, her golden blonde hair swaying with her ponytail. I glanced in the directions she instructed and saw that Maja was in one, Ash in another, both staring me down. Um . . . okaaaaaaayyyyyyy _that _wasn't creepy at all. _Definitely _not at all like _The Shining_. Were they going to kidnap me and put me in a giant _box _with like 14,000 _other_ _boxes _filled with traps like in _Cube_? Or, oh, they were going to chain me to a pipe in some shitty dilapidated bathroom with a cadaver and some other dude _I've _been stalking who is tasked with the assignment of killing me like in _Saw_.

_Whoa, Marsh. Tone it down, _I told myself. The stress must have been really getting to me if I just compared two kids to three psychological horror films. Bah, why did I even agree to this stupid concert in the first place?! I was sooo confident before, but now I didn't even want to do anything! And _why the hell was Marceline taking so long?!_

I slowly turned back around and raised my eyebrows at Fionna.

She pushed the sleeves of her white jacket up. "Yeah."

"Remind me how this counts as looking out for me, if you will," I said, trying to adjust the sound on the microphone.

"You. Are. So. _Obtuse_. They won't come near you if I'm here. They're afraid of us right now."

"Ah," I said, grunting as I twisted the stand for the mic. How long had it been since it was used? I gave up and looked at her. "Well, thanks for that." I glanced back at Maja and Ash again. "What would they do if you weren't here?"

"Try to gang up on you, corner you, and interrogate you until you give in to whatever fucking weird plan they have," she stated matter-of-factly. I didn't question the validity of her statement. She was probably right.

I moved my head around and widened my eyes. "Sounds like oodles of fun."

Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Marceline exiting the backdoor of the mansion. She lightly jogged over to us, holding up a big stack of papers and a laptop. Her face was stoic and I realized that she had seen the two devils, Maja and Ash, watching us. She was pretty scared of them, wasn't she? Or at least intimidated by them. Poor thing.

"Okay," she said once she reached us. "I've got a short list of songs I think you could sing and play that aren't too hard or complicated. Here." She shoved everything into my hands. "Look them over."

She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet in an antsy way as I read the song titles and the music sheets for each instrument. Fionna, still seated on top of the speaker, put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. I nodded slowly. Not too complicated.

"It's good?" she asked, her hand underneath her elbow and her other hand playing near her lips.

"Yeah, it's good."

She sighed. "Good . . . Good! I'll go get the others and I'll help you guys practice."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, hold up," I said, my eyes snagged onto the lyrics to one song. I usually tried to understand a song before I sang it so that I could show as much emotion as possible, which typically made me sound better. But I didn't understand this one. I showed her the title. It was supposed to be the first song we played. "What's this song about?"

Her eyes narrowed. She shook her head. "Someone who doesn't deserve a song anymore."

* * *

_**Marceline's POV**_

I clapped my hands as the boys finished the last song on the setlist: Let the Flames Begin. Lordo had adapted to my axe bass well and made it look like it was his own. Finn agreed to use Lady's guitar, which was kind of funny because it was painted with rainbows _and _typical Emo Trinity signs. Jake in the back loved Cake's drum set and ranted and raved about it. And Marshall? He played Fionna's guitar like he had done it his entire life (though it did look strange on him because it was dark blue, which did _not_ fit his aesthetic) and, Glob, I could listen to his voice forever.

All in all, they were amazing and all my doubts about the concert washed away. They could do it. They sounded great, they played great, everything was great! And, you know, they looked pretty hot while they played. So . . . There was no way tonight could be ruined at all. No way.

Marshall looked down at me from on top of the stage and smiled. "Good enough for you, Marceline?"

"I gotta admit, Marsh, I had my doubts," I responded, crossing my arms over my abdomen and leaning on one leg.

Marshall laughed and looked away and I think I felt myself grow weak.

"Are they flirting again?" Lady asked, eyes still glued to the stage as she leaned to one side.

"I have no idea," Fionna whispered back.

A few students I recognized as "outcasts" walked past the stage a couple times, complimenting the Vampire Knights and even me, when they recognized my songs. It was both a self esteem boost and a stress reliever. Winter had clasped a hand over her mouth as they walked by and Summer gave the boys a thumbs up. Aiden and Elliot had stood behind me and told me I outdid myself with the songs I picked. Even the Perfects watched from their little house-cabin-porch thing in the backyard.

So, yeah, things were really looking up for me.

I pulled out my phone and checked the time. Ten minutes to showtime. I bit my lip and tried to think back, to see if I had forgotten anything. I muttered a curse as I recalled I wanted to film this event.

I turned to Cake. "I have to go get my camera, okay? If I'm not back in ten minutes, start without me."

"You sure?" she asked, her brows furrowed.

I nodded. "I don't want to mess this up."

"All right, girl. Be quick."

"Sure thing, Pie."

I ran back inside as fast as I could and bounded up the stairs. It was only then that I realized that my grandfather has, like, a shit ton of stairs. To say the least, I was really winded by the time I reached my floor. When I got to my room, I groaned. I had tore up my room when trying to figure out which songs to pick. It was a _mess_. How the hell was I going to find a camera in under eight minutes?

I searched like there was no tomorrow. I threw my clothes around, made a mess of all my _other _lyric sheets, and turned more bags than I could count upside down. And I still couldn't find it. I gave up eventually. I leaned against the window and looked out, where I could see Marshall and Lordo laughing over something on the stage. Of course I would completely fuck this up. All I wanted was to record my first Vampire Knights concert, but _no, _life decided to be an absolute _bitch _and screw me over!

I checked the time on my phone. Three minutes. I stepped over to my desk and picked up the apple Finn and Jake had left there for me. I rolled it over in my fingers, taking one bite from it. The sweet juices flooded my mouth and made me feel better, just a little. It reminded me of one of my favorite stories: the tale of Snow White. Just one lace of the bodice too tight made her faint, one prick of the comb poisoned her, one bite of the red apple placed her in a coma.

Like how just one wrong turn could lead to you laying dead in a ditch. One hour less of sleep could lead to you falling asleep at work and losing your job. One sentence said at the wrong time could lead to the loss of your decade long relationship. One simple inconvenience could ruin your day.

The 'what if's, the 'what could be's, the possibilities . . . They haunted me, every single time.

I checked the time again. Two minutes. I squeezed my eyes shut and pursed my lips, trying to think positively. It wasn't like I'd never see them play a concert again, right? Right?

_Maybe, _I thought. _Time and unforeseen occurrence exists, you know._

I set the apple down and smiled at it. "Catch you later, Snow White."

Maybe I was really just going insane. I made a move towards the door and jumped back when there was a sharp yet soft knock. What the hell? Who was knocking on _my_ door at 11:58? Who was even in the house? I thought people were in their cabin-house things, in the backyard, or hanging near the stage. So . . . who would . . .

I opened the door and I think my heart stopped for a moment.

Strawberry blonde hair. Blue eyes. Unreadable expression. My shirt.

Bonnie stood not two feet in front of me, her fingers fumbling around a loose thread on the band shirt I gave her what felt like ages ago. The purple spandex she wore were torn and shredded, which made me bite back a harsh laugh. So _not_ Bonnibel. Her hair was down, like it usually was, only it was pulled over one shoulder, partially revealing her tattoo peaking over the hem of the shirt. The tattoo that she tried so hard to cover up recently. Not many even knew she had it. I almost thought I was going to purge at the sight of it.

Her eyes became wide–wider than usual–when she looked at me. It was almost as if she thought I wouldn't answer, or she didn't think her words through well enough, which was so very unlike her. I don't even think I had the strength to glare at her. I was still too shocked she had come to my room–to see _me_–in the first place.

"M-Marceline . . ." she stammered.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I crossed my arms. "What do you want, Bonnie?"

She flinched. I internally smirked. Was she expecting me to use the nickname we gave her? PB? Princess Bubblegum? Ha. No.

She inhaled as if to gain courage. "We need to talk."

"I have no desire to speak to you," I said, though my curiosity was piqued. Then again, it always piqued around Bonnie.

I went to close the door, but she put her foot in and stopped it. "Marcy–"

"Don't call me that," I spat out.

Bonnie looked hurt, but I didn't care. She lost that privilege a long time ago. Then, for reasons I still don't know, I stepped away from the door, allowing her to come in, and sat down on my bed, trying to look relaxed. It felt impossible. She walked in and stood in front of me, her arms outstretched slightly like a bird about to take flight. I could read it easily. She was uncomfortable. _Good, _I thought, a smirk crossing my face before I could stop it.

"_Marceline_," she pointedly corrected, her hands finally stilling. "I feel like . . . like there things that need to be said."

"Oh, _now_ you wanna talk?" I asked her, repositioning the arm that propped me up on my bed. "Sorry, hun, but I think you're a little late."

"Marceline, please," she said, like she thought she could convince me. "Just hear me out."

It was the eyes. It had to have been the eyes, so damn stark in comparison to mine, that made my resolve weaken. I huffed a stray hair out of my face. _Maybe_ I'd let her speak . . .

Outside I heard a crowd yelling and I realized that it was midnight. _Great, thanks Bon-Bon, _I thought. Now I would be late to my friends' own concert. But as I heard the crowd roar I realized that it was definitely not half of the junior year out there. It was _more_ than half. Did my grandfather invite more people to see them play?

"All right, uh, wow, there are a lot more of you guys than I thought," Marshall said through the microphone.

I looked Bonnie dead in the eyes. "All right, Bonnie. Be quick."

As Marshall went on about something outside, Bonnie started pacing the room. "I've been thinking, Marceline, and I've come to the accept the fact that I haven't been the greatest friend to you."

I scoffed. That was an understatement.

Outside, Marshall started singing the first song. The song I wrote for Bonnie. Maybe, from a different perspective, for him, too.

_"__Stuck in the jet wash  
Bad trip I couldn't get off.  
And maybe I bit off more than I could chew  
And overhead of the aqua blue."_

"I keep playing that night over and over in my head and . . . it kills me, Marceline."

_"__Fall to your knees, bring on the rapture.  
Blessed be the boys time can't capture  
On film or between the sheets.  
I always fall from your window to the pitch black streets."_

"I know I could have done more and I know you hate me for it. I don't see how anyone could ever forgive me. Fio, Cake, Lady . . . they always give me the blackest look when they see me and it . . . It hurts so much."

I almost rolled my eyes. Gee, Bonnie, I wonder why.

_"__And with the black banners raised as the crooked smiles fade,  
Former heroes who quit too late  
Just wanna fill up the trophy case again."_

"But . . ."

_"__And in the end,"_

"I'm not to talk about that."

_"I'd do it all again."_

"I'm here to talk about the Vampire Knights."

_"I think you're my best friend."_

"They're dangerous, Marceline. They'll hurt you; I know they will. The things my friends have told me . . ."

_"__Don't you know that the kids aren't all, kids aren't all right."_

I gaped at her, a fire igniting in me. But not the good kind by any means.

_"__I'll be yours."_

"Your _friends?_" I asked, fighting the urge to jump off the bed and tackle her to the ground.

_"__When it rains, it pours."_

"What lies have they told you this time, huh? What else have they brainwashed you into thinking?"

_"__Stay thirsty like before.  
Don't you know that the kids aren't all, kids aren't all right."_

"Did you just come here to attack me? To try and turn me into a Perfect like you? To try to prevent me from being happy with the Vampire Knights?!"

_"__I'm not passive but aggressive.  
Take note, it's not impressive.  
Empty your sadness, like you're dumping your purse  
On my bedroom floor.  
We put your curse in reverse."_

"Is that why you're here? Is it?"

_"__And it's our time now if you want it to be.  
More the war like the carnival bears set free.  
And your love is anemic and I can't believe  
That you couldn't see it coming from me."_

"Answer me, Bonnie!"

_"__And I still feel that rush in my veins.  
It twists my head just a bit too thin.  
All those people in those old photographs I've seen are dead."_

"_I'm _trying to protect you and make amends!" she defended.

_"__And in the end,"_

She huffed. "Honestly, Marceline, you're acting like a child."

_"__I'd do it all again."_

I stood up fuming. "Oh, _I'm _the child?!"

_"I think you're my best friend."_

"Why not _you?!_ You, the girl who hid behind nice pieces of _fake,_ refusing to speak or even _acknowledge_ me for five fucking years!"

_"__Don't you know that the kids aren't all, kids aren't all right.  
I'll be yours."_

"How could I?" she defended. I spun on my heel, stepping away from her in anger. "There was nothing I could say to you after–"

"YOU LEFT ME!" I screamed, turning back around. In a weird way, I had completed her sentence.

_"__When it rains, it pours.  
Stay thirsty like before."_

"You _watched _as they stripped and tortured and humiliated me!" My vision grew blurry. I was almost tempted to lift my shirt and show her the scars that still marred my skin. "You didn't do _one thing _to help me! I NEEDED YOU!"

"That's not my fault and you know it! I had to be with them!"

"All of it is your fault! You were the one person who could help me! You _ruined_ me! You left me!"

_"__Don't you know that the kids aren't all, kids aren't all right."_

The tears were escaping me faster than I thought they would like venom biting against the inside of my eyelids. I tried to cover it up with my eyelashes but I knew I had to keep looking at her. Otherwise, she already won.

_"__And sometimes I just want to sit around  
And gaze at my shoes."_

"Don't you think I regret that every fucking day?" she asked. Tears raced down her face in a much more graceful and elegant way than mine did. "Leaving you was the worst decision I've ever made! And that is why I'm here now, don't you get it, Marcy? I'm here for you now!"

_"__Yeah.  
And let your dirty sadness fill me up  
Just like a balloon."_

"_Now?! _I'm afraid you're a little too late. I can't ever care for you again . . ." I said between sobs. "Bonnie . . ."

_"__And in the end,  
I'd do it all again.  
I think you're my best friend."_

"How can you even say that?!" she asked.

_"Don't you know that the kids aren't all, kids aren't all right."_

"_I loved you!_" I cut off.

_"__And I'll be yours."_

"I loved you and you _left me! _What kind of person does that? WHO DOES THAT?!"

_"__When it rains, it pours."_

"All I want is my best friend back!" she shrieked, her voice louder than ever. "_That's all I came to do!"_

_"Stay thirsty like before."_

I shook my head, my lower lip quivering. "You aren't my best friend. You never were."

"Marceline . . ." she sobbed.

_"__Don't you know that the kids aren't all, kids aren't all right."_

"Get out," I snapped. "Get out, get the fuck out now!"

She scoffed, mixed with her sobs. "Gladly, Marceline."

I slammed the door shut as she left. I panted staring at it, wondering what exactly I had just let go. What I had just let escape me again. I covered my mouth with my shaking hand, pressing my back to the door. I let my cries and the outro to the song lull me until I was too weak to stand and collapsed to the floor in a heap of misery.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, pulling my legs up closer to me.

But how can you apologize to a ghost?

* * *

I was jerked awake when I felt something slam repeatedly against my back. I looked up and around my room, confused. Then I saw that it was the door and exhaled, covering my face with a palm and letting it fall.

"Wha–what the fuck is . . ." I heard Marshall's voice, raspy from singing, say from the other side.

I choked out a laugh, the dry snot in my nose making me feel plugged up and claustrophobic. I slid to the side so that he could open the door without resistance. He looked down at me once he opened it, at first looking confused as hell, then concerned. I could still see the sweat on his face and his messy hair was matted down. So the concert was over, I assumed.

He crouched down beside me, cupping my face. I could feel the tears welling up again. Stupid, _stupid _tears! My face was probably all red and blotchy, too. Ugh!

"Hey," he said softly. "You never came down. I was just wondering . . ."

I couldn't help the tears that silently fell. Dammit!

He pursed his lips, his brow furrowing. "What happened, Marceline?"

I shakily tried to breath in, but I started hyperventilating instead. My stomach jerked and throbbed and it felt like there were bubbles in my throat. There was this faint choking sensation there as well that felt more terrifying than anything. I cried some more. Instead of saying anything, he lifted me off of the ground and onto the bed, tucking me in and kissing my forehead as I cried quietly. Then he left my room, only to return seconds later with our friends. None of them, not even the girls, asked anything.

They just sat down beside me and consoled me by simply holding my hand or petting my hair or touching my knee. It was exactly what I needed. Marshall, sweet thing, even sang The End of All Things to me, despite the fact that his throat obviously hurt.

And then I felt the pull of the dreamworld engulf me in a much better manner, surrounded by my friends and my face dried, the sound of Marshall's voice more soothing than it had been hours ago.

* * *

Did you know that in 2010 when I was like 13 I got to see MCR live, but there were seats where they were playing and Gerard was like, "Oh, seats. My worst enemy." and was really not pumped up at all and it was my only MCR concert ever because we couldn't afford tickets again and thinking about it saddens me to this very day

So, what did you think of this chapter? Let me know in a review because I love feedback. Oh, and I know that I used The Kids Aren't Alright in a completely different context, but sometimes when I listen to it I just start crying and I don't know why, so now Marcy cries to it, too! Also, the argument scene between the Sugarless Gum duo was based on a real life argument between me and an old friend. The more you know!

Guest 1- Yes, as you can tell, this fanfic in particular likes to go on hiatus a lot. What can I say, my brain occasionally ceases to function haha. Thanks for the review!

Guest 2- Well here you are! I'm really glad you're enjoying the story so much! I'll leave the argument between Bonnie and Marcy up for interpretation for now ;) (hint: Marceline has a little social anxiety for a reason)

Guest 3- It's a huge relief to have such positive reactions to this fic. Thank you so much for the review!

HAPPY THOUGHT: (this one actually kind of fits for the story)

silent as a statue  
you bear it all with stoic, strong shoulders  
it is okay to cry  
recovery is not a weakness.


	13. For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic

During my medical assisting class today, the doctor we're learning from had us all cut open a heart, which is pretty standard and I've done it many times. But some STUPID kid held up the heart and started going "KALIMAAHHHHHHH" like in Indiana Jones and the doctor kicked him out of the class. So that happened. Just wanted to share.

I don't know how I feel about this chapter, but here it is. Review if you like! Lots of line-breaks in this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own Adventure Time or Paramore. I would probably make this canon if I did, though.

* * *

**_Marceline's POV_**

When I woke up, my head had a sharp distinctive feeling like it was going to explode. My joints were slow, my eyes achey and sore, and my nose stuffy. Not my favorite feelings, but they were aftereffects of crying, so I had to live with them.

Marshall was sitting next to my bed, passed out over my stomach. A bit of drool escaped his mouth as he snored softly, which made me laugh. I looked up and surveyed my room. No one else was around, which surprised me since the last thing I remembered was all of my friends being with me. I dug into my pocket and looked at the time on my phone.

11:24.

So chances were that everyone had eaten already and were off to do whatever daunting task my grandfather gave them. That sucked. No doubt my friends did _not_ want to do whatever he had in store. I could imagine them groaning and snickering to one another as they left . . .

But Marshall stayed.

Strange.

I guess.

He turned his head in his sleep, mumbling something about the color red. At first, a smile creeped onto my face, but I could feel it fading faster than it had come. This loser, this fucking nerd, is the leader of the guys who have Bonnie so concerned for me. "Concerned" for me. The math didn't really add up there, and I _liked_ to think in the form of crunching numbers.

But then again, no one knows the Vampire Knights like we do, do they? No one knows that they aren't really terrifying axe murderers and that they're really just stupid, endearing boyish teenagers. If anything, the _Vampire Knights _were scared of the _normal _kids.

Bonnie was smart. She would've been able to see through their bad boy facade. So why the hell did she want me away from them so badly? She didn't seem to care about who I interacted with for the first _five_ years, so what was so damn _different _now?

I sighed, my fingers curling around my blankets. Maybe she really did still have some sort of affection for me. Maybe she really did care. But then why did she wait so _long_?

I guess either way I shouldn't have gotten angry at her. She was just trying to make amends; cut the tie or replace it. But there was just so much to be angry about. I guess in my mind during that argument, being respectful in any sort of way towards her would be like forgiving her, and I just wasn't ready for that yet. How do you forgive someone who stood on the sidelines as you were humiliated to the point that you had more than a few suicidal thoughts? It was so difficult.

I ran my fingers through Marshall's hair absentmindedly.

When I got angry at her, I made a mistake. I knew that. I could accept that. But she made more than a few mistakes, too. I wasn't the only one at fault for what had happened last night. I couldn't be. I _couldn't _be.

So I didn't have to apologize.

And maybe she didn't either.

* * *

When Marshall woke up, he explained that the others had gone down to the beach and that he stayed to wait for me. He had been obviously fatigued from performing, so once they left, he fell right back asleep. I couldn't blame him.

I let him shower first, which gave me some time to make sure I didn't look like a total loser and pick out my outfit. Out of the corner of my eye, on top of my desk and right next to the apple, I could see another note, similar to the one left in the bus for me not long ago.

Marcy,

We know what happened, so you don't have to explain a thing. We only have advice for you: tie your hair back, put some socks on, and get cozy in an oversized jacket. It _will _make you feel better.

Come see us whenever you feel up to it.

Also, we trust Marsh with you again.

xoxo Fionna, Cake, and Lady (AKA: the sexiest beasts in the world, right?)

Underneath the note was, unsurprisingly, Cake's ribbons, Fionna's socks, and one of Lady's jackets. The ribbons weren't really my style, the socks were sure to be too big for me (Fionna was much curvier and had much nicer legs than me), and Lady knew I wasn't the biggest fan of that color. Nevertheless, I smiled at them. It was the thought that was supposed to count, wasn't it? And what did I ever do to deserve such amazing friends?

Just as I picked up the jacket, I heard my bedroom door open. When I turned around, Marshall was standing there . . .

In just a towel.

"Glob!" I cried, holding up my hands to cover my eyes. "Marsha–Gob Globit, Marshall! Where are your clothes?"

He was unfazed. "Do you know where those idiots put my bag?"

"Oh my Glob, oh my Glob . . ." I said, turn away from him. I could hear him shuffling around my room, most likely looking for his bag, and I groaned. "Marshall Lee, I hate you right now."

"Oh, how you wound me," he said. I could practically _feel_ the grin in his voice. After a while, he stopped moving around. "Huh. Guess it's in another room."

"Of course it's in another room!" I snapped. "This is _my_ room!"

"Are you going to stand with your hands covering your eyes and your back to me the entire time I'm in here?"

I laughed once. "Until you put a shirt on."

"It's not like I'm running around streaking, Marceline, I _am _wearing a towel."

My cheeks burned. "That is the point, genius."

"That I'm wearing a towel," he said flatly.

"Yes! It's inappropriate!"

He chuckled softly. "All right, Queen, you win. I'll go look for my bag someplace yonder, and your eyes must no longer be averted."

I rolled my eyes at his words. When he left, his laughs echoed throughout the hall, and I rolled them again. I love that stupid dork.

* * *

We made our way down the stairs and to the kitchen once I got out of the shower, him fully clothed (thank Glob almighty) and me in my friends' clothes, as requested (or maybe demanded?) by them. My grandfather was sitting down in the kitchen, just running his eyes up and down the walls, per the usual, odd behavior of his. He could have been waiting for us, but I didn't really know. No one ever did with him.

I nodded at him and tried to smile, though it felt forced. He just looked at Marshall and I, his face completely devoid of emotion, and blinked. _Oh, here we go with the creepiness,_ I thought. Trying to not let us linger, I reached into the fridge and pulled out a package of strawberries, opening it quickly and shoveling them into a bowl. Marshall just hung by my side and tried not to look in Grandfather's direction.

I almost thought we would get away without saying anything, but once we headed upstairs again, he said, "Marceline."

Closing my eyes, I turned around to face him. He had that blank look about him again. Maybe he just liked to do it so that no one would know what his real emotions were. Or maybe he was still just fucking odd.

"Your father will be here tonight," he said. "Prepare."

I exhaled sharply. No way. No no no no no . . . Please, no . . .

I half-nodded half-bowed, grabbed Marshall's hand, and ran up the stairs. Yes, I would definitely have to "prepare."

* * *

"Preparing" was just me having a mini panic attack while Marshall, who was probably freaked out beyond belief, crouched in front of me and tried to calm me down.

I felt white. The color white. Somehow. I just felt white. It's the only way I can describe it. Perhaps with splashes of an ugly orange and ink blue. Somehow. I was trapped in a white, orange, and blue box, suffocating and crying in the simplest form. Every time I banged on the walls of the box, the orange would spike up, the blue would level out, and the white would spread. I couldn't process anything. My vision was blurry. I thought I was going to faint.

_Anxiety_ . . . was such a bitch.

Marshall squared my shoulders, pushed my ponytail back, and settled my hands in my lap. He forced me to look up and wouldn't let my body slump down. He wiped away the tears that were like cinders flying from a fire and told me I was safe and okay. He told me to list off everything I saw around me. _Ground myself. _He was commanding, confident, and I was shaking. I clung to the sound of his voice before I couldn't any longer.

"A bed."

"A bowl of strawberries."

"A desk."

"Six bags."

"Four pillows."

"A towel."

"An apple."

I listed everything I could have possible listed, the details growing as the list became longer, and slowly, _slowly,_ the colors disappeared and I broke free of the box. I could breath. The air was still and refreshing. My limbs felt like they were my own. My mind and body were relaxed again. I could think. I had been lying to myself and now I saw the truth.

Marshall's serious look washed off. He softened. He told me I was still safe.

I believed him.

* * *

"Do you know how long we've been waiting for you?" Lady asked us when we met them at the beach. She put a hand on her hip and swung her beach towel over her shoulder, her face playful but stern.

My grip tightened around my bag and I forced a smile. Finn cocked his head at me.

"We got a little caught up," Marshall said, his arm around my shoulders. It seemed he knew I didn't have the willpower to speak.

Cake looked me up and down. "Well at least you took our advice." She glanced at Marshall and her jaw dropped. "Why aren't you wearing something you can swim in? It's a beach!"

He shrugged. "Not in the mood to swim."

"Good," Finn said, "because we need to talk."

"The boys have been bitching about how you've been taking too long for the past three hours," Fionna explained, fixing the strings on her bathing suit. "And did you know he's afraid of the ocean? How cute."

Marshall smiled. "I thought you kicked that years ago."

"He lied then," Lady said in a singsongy voice.

"Shhhshhhshhhhhhshshhhhhhhhhh!" Finn frantically hushed. He grabbed Marshall's arm and pulled him along with Lordo and Jake, who had been quiet the entire conversation, off to the side.

Fionna put both hands on my shoulders, her sun kissed face concerned. "You okay?"

I gave her a noncommittal expression. "I guess."

"Something's bothering you," Lady stated.

"Nothing too important right now," I reassured, even though my dad arriving was definitely very, very important.

"Well . . ." Cake started, trying to search for words. "Do you want to come out and swim with us?"

I scrunched up my nose and put my bag in my other hand. "Not a fan of the sun today. I'll just sit off on the side." I raised my bag to clarify. "Write a little."

"You sure?" they all asked in varying tones.

"I'm sure."

With the reluctancy of a mouse near a trap, they stepped away from me and down to the water. There was no skip in their steps like there usually was. Fionna looked back at me and raised her eyebrow. I waved her off, instantly looking around for a place to set my beach towel down, and after I got settled, I started writing.

Writing lyrics, which is just a mixture of poetry in different forms, was often easiest when filled with emotion. Music without emotion is pretty much just a fuckboy's beat, being perfectly honest. Emotion drives so many things, words being some of the most powerful. It was choosing where you focus the emotion that was the most difficult part.

There were many things I could be emotional about. The most obvious would be Bonnie and the shit she put me through. But sometimes you have to learn that you can't keep writing about the things that don't deserve to be written. Bonnie . . . she was getting old. Being so stuck on her was getting old. Writing for her was getting old. Fruitless. What was I actually getting out of whining over a lost friendship? Some sort of satisfaction? Maybe? I couldn't keep writing for her forever.

My mind searched and searched. I could just write a good old fashioned "screw you" song in a Billie Joe Armstrong-type way, maybe towards Ash or any Perfect, but my heart wasn't in it. Writing about how crappy the world was usually seemed to work, but I always wound up getting morbid with that. I could always write for my friends. There were plenty for the girls, even some recently for the guys, but now wasn't really the time for them. Mom was another option. But what else was there to say about her? Another goodbye song? Another farewell to the ones we'll never see again? Another I-miss-you?

No. I always tried to keep my themes unique. I wrote about Momma enough already.

So that left only one other _person_ . . .

I bit my lip, opening up my notebook to the first blank page I could find. The empty spaces between the perfect little lines practically dared me to fill them and ruin their clean landscape. It was like scarring and marring smooth, unblemished skin. Bringing the nine to a zero. There was something that was just so _tempting_ about it.

And everyone knows I can never resist temptation.

* * *

"Hey."

I raised my finger up at Marshall. I was on a roll. No stopping. No time to stop. I was almost done.

"Marceline?"

"Shh, wait."

"Marcy."

"Wait!"

One more line. Just one more line . . .

He sighed and plopped down on the towel right next to me. I could see him run a hand through his hair exhaustedly.

"Okay!" I exclaimed, my face lighting up for probably the first time that day.

I crossed my legs instead of holding them to me and leaned forward, rereading the lyrics. There were so many error marks, so many mistakes, so many doodles in the margins when I couldn't think, but now it was _finally _perfected. I almost wanted to run to Fionna, Lady, and Cake and make them play it now, as I already had a basic melody in my head.

Marshall leaned over, our shoulders touching as his eyes skimmed over the words. He looked up at me. "Can I hear what you've got?"

I paused for a brief moment before smirking. I was particularly proud of this piece, so why not flaunt it for once? Why not let someone in early?

I held up the notebook and read to him, _"Just talk yourself up and tear yourself down. You've hit your one wall, now find a way around. Well, what's the problem? You've got a lot of nerve.  
"So what did you think I would say? No, you can't run away, no, you can't run away. So what did you think I would say? No, you can't run away, no, you can't run away. You wouldn't.  
"I never wanted to say this, you never wanted to stay. I put my faith in you, so much faith, and then you just threw it away. You threw it away.  
"I'm not so naive, my sorry eyes can see the way you fight, shy of almost everything. Well, if you give up you'll get what you deserve.  
"So what did you think I would say? No, you can't run away, no, you can't run away. So what did you think I would say? No, you can't run away, no, you can't run away. You wouldn't.  
"I never wanted to say this, you never wanted to stay. I put my faith in you, so much faith, and then you just threw it away. You threw it away.  
"You were finished long before we had even seen the start. Why don't you stand up, be a man about it? Fight with your bare hands about it now.  
"I never wanted to say this, you never wanted to stay. Well, do you? I put my faith in you, so much faith, and then you just threw it away. I never wanted to say this, you never wanted to stay. And I put my faith in you, so much faith, and then you just threw it away."_

I grinned when I finished. I thought I actually did good with this one! I looked up at Marshall expectantly, but deflated when I saw that his eyes were unfocused and his lips were pressed in a firm line.

"And who is this song for again?" he asked, not looking at me.

I crossed my arms and slumped down. "You know who," I mumbled.

"Voldemort?" he asked, the corner of his lip quirked.

I smacked his arm, resulting in him yelping out. "No! You _know _who!"

He concurred and turned somber again. "Okay. I guess that makes sense."

"It _does_ make sense."

He was quiet for a short while, looking at Fionna dragging Finn out into the water. Trial by fire.

"If I may ask, Marceline," he said, "do you think that your issues with your dad are connected to your, uh . . . _situation_ with Bonnie?"

My head whipped over to look at him. "I'm sorry?"

He dug fistfuls of sand into his palms. "I mean . . . maybe they have something to do with each other."

I shook my head. "No . . . no, that wouldn't make sense. They are two completely different, uncorrelated situations with unique circumstances."

"Are they?" he asked, finally looking me in the eyes. "I mean . . ."

I leaned closer to him. "What do you mean, Marsh?"

"What happened between you and your dad?"

I paused. Thought. Considered. "He wasn't being a dad," I answered. "He neglected me, treated me like crap most of the time, then tried to make up for it all by giving me things I didn't want."

"And Bonnie?"

"She . . ." My voice faltered. I didn't talk about that night. No one should ever talk about that night.

"Something must have happened between you two," Marshall insisted.

I felt trapped. Did I really want to tell him about that? Did he deserve to know? Maybe. Then again, I say "maybe" more often than not recently.

"Remember the first day you came over my house?" I asked. When he nodded, I said, "And I told you that Ashley spread that rumor, right? Well, here's the full story."

He listed his head, lips pursed as if telling me to go on.

I took a deep breath. "When Bonnie heard that Ashley was saying these things, she wanted to go "under cover" and pretend to be a Perfect so that she could figure out why Ashley had said what she did. But eventually . . . negativity like that can get to you. Bonnie stopped coming over when the girls and I would hang out and would never respond to my texts.

"One day after my last period, I told Fionna, Cake, and Lady to walk home without me, which I can now quite clearly see was a mistake. I texted Bonnie to meet me near the back of the school, where we all used to eat lunch, and waited. It must have been hours, but I was just so confident that she would show up. And she did . . . with Ashley, Maja, and LSP."

Marshall frowned, like he could see where the story was going.

"Bonnie didn't say a word. She let Maja do all of the talking, like all of the Perfects usually do. Maja . . . she just said that they hated me. Told me my mom must be ashamed of me. Typical bully stuff that didn't bother me too much. And then she said that I . . . that Bonnie told them everything I had ever said about them and that they wanted revenge . . . I have never seen anyone look so evil before, Marshall.

"Ashley hit me. And hit me. And hit me. And didn't stop until I was begging. They ripped hair from my head and they tore all of my clothes with scissors and didn't care when they cut me . . . and they cut me deep. They forced me to take these sick humiliating photos . . . And then they beat me again." I felt along my skull where the marks remained, squirming and feeling the scar tissue along my stomach, hips, and calves. "I never stopped calling out to Bonnie, pleading with her to help me . . . but she never did. She just stood there, rigid, and watched. She looked terrified, like _she_ was the one being tortured."

Marshall's face was pale and broken. His lower lip quivered and he looked around, blinking rapidly as he took in all of the new information. I suppose it must be pretty shocking when you hear it for the first time.

"I didn't ever find out what they did with those pictures. I don't think I want to." I splayed out my fingers against my knee. "So there it is. My stupid little story that has no merit–"

Marshall pulled me into his lap and crushed me in a hug. It took a moment to register, but I eventually wrapped my arms around him in return. He buried his head in the crook of my shoulder and then I was wondering if _he _was really comforting _me_ anymore. His back jerked and I felt a wetness against my neck. Was he crying? Oh my Glob . . .

"I'm so sorry . . ." he said, his voice barely above a whisper, yet still sounding more forceful than ever. "I was always trying to . . . I was protecting you from the wrong people . . . I'm so sorry . . ."

I ran a hand through his hair. I had no idea what he was talking about, but it was obvious that he needed consoling much more than I did. "You did all you could," I said.

He only seemed to cry harder. His sobs were wicked, like a violent pulse beating against a platinum cage. It made me wonder what exactly had moved him to react this way. I didn't exactly have what you would call a "touching" story, and he was a pretty strong person. Either way, I didn't care. If he was crying, I was more than obliged to help. Glob knows he's done the same for me more times than I can count. (And that's a lot; I can count pretty high).

"Oh."

Marshall's body sagged as if he was holding up the weight of the sky. I turned around and saw none other than Maja Mahariel standing in a stringy bathing suit, her black hair wet from the water and her eyes holding a sparkle that I didn't trust at all. I glared at her, knowing that that's what Marshall would've done if he had the strength to.

_Be strong for him,_ I told myself. It was my turn to protect him from the bullies.

"What do you want, Maja?" I asked, standing up so that I could gain more confidence. Marshall seemed to be falling apart behind me. It felt like he was curling in on himself, making him seem smaller than he really was. What _happened_?

"Oh, I just came to see how you're doing," Maja said sweetly. If I didn't know better, her words would've almost seemed genuine. Her tone turned harsh very quickly, though. "And to tell you that you are still in _very_ big trouble for breaking our deal." Her eyes flickered to Marshall, then dropped. "And for hurting Bonnie."

I sneered. "Bonnie brought that on herself, okay? And if I recall, a _"deal" _was never made." I stepped closer to her. "So you can run back to that little whore of a leader of yours and tell her that she has absolutely _nothing _on me." I smirked. "Tell her he was worth it, too."

Maja's solid look deteriorated in anger. She spun away on her heel, screaming, "ASHLEY!" as she made her way down to the other side of the beach. I was tempted to remind her that I own the beach, too, but decided against it.

I felt triumphant, and almost forgot about Marshall, his eyes rimmed in red as he still just sat there.

I crouched down in front of him, just like he had last night when he found me sobbing to myself after my fight with Bonnie. He laughed hoarsely. "I look horrible and broken, don't I?"

"Yes," I said. I put a hand over his. "But broken isn't unfixable."

* * *

What did you think? Marceline's humiliation sprang from two irl experiences, one from me, one from my friend, so I'm sorry if it's kind of . . . not . . . surprising . . . or sad . . . I TRIED, OKAY? I TRIED TO MAKE IT SAD (NOT)

hijackforver- I really love your username and I do not know why. Haha, I am very glad you enjoy the fanfic! Having someone at a loss for words is quite the exhilarating feeling. Keep on reading!

Guest 1- It is really difficult, isn't it? The drama that comes with friends is just horrible. I'm glad your issues were mostly resolved. If you ever need to talk, I'm here :) AND FINALLY SOMEONE LIKES PANIC! AND FOB AS MUCH AS I DO I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO SAY IT

Guest 2- YES! Swear! I love swearing! Let the swearing commence! Let it all out!

HAPPY THOUGHT:

i trust your poetry and drive  
i trust your strength and capability  
one day there will be a time for you to trust that too  
just wait


	14. Long Live

I had the strangest freaking dream that the sun was being eroded (? ? ? that's not how it works ? ? ? ? I know this ? ? ? i love space i know that it doesn't work that way ? ? ? ?) and there was kinda this almost-eclipse to which I started screaming for my grandpa to come (? ? he's dead ? ? ? ? ?) and see and the world was flashing between light and darkness and then the sun was just swallowed whole and everything was pitch black but then suddenly everything was inverted color-wise and I woke up before I could figure out what the holy fuck was happening

Weird dream, am I right? I swear I'm not on any drugs. I _did _fall asleep listening to P!ATD, so maybe that was it.

So here we are, chapter 14! This one is a little unusual, but whatevs. I decided we need a little unusual positivity for once. Also, it's pretty short, so, I'm sorry, please forgive me, etc.

Disclaimer: No. I'm so done with this. I DO NOT OWN ADVENTURE TIME.

* * *

**_Marshall Lee's POV_**

I didn't feel truly _there _for hours after Marceline spoke with me about what had happened to her. She too could tell that I was out of it. I could see it in her face. That bittersweet _pity _all over her face. But there was confusion there, too, and I couldn't blame her. As far as she knew, I had no reason to be an emotional bitch when she explained herself. As far as she knew, the Vampire Knights and I paid little to no attention to her up until recently.

How could I explain that to her? How could I explain that we threw our entire reputation out the window for her, to protect her? We _had _to protect her, because no one else would, and because without her, the school would fall apart. We gave up so much for her . . . Only we were protecting her from the wrong people, it seemed.

I mentally smacked myself in the head for the umpteenth time that day. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! _How could I have been so blind? There was so much more we could have done for her if we had just focused our attention on the Perfects! Why didn't I think of them? Why didn't I factor them into my equation? I should have realized ages ago that they were a huge threat to Marceline's health–physically and mentally! Maybe even a bigger threat than Ash! Stupid! Why was I so freaking stupid?!

The rational part of my brain told me that it wasn't my fault. There was no way I could have possibly been able to fend off Ash _and _Ashley. But the other part of me told me that all of it was my responsibility and I should have seen everything coming. I should have realized that the Perfects were so damn evil–the subtle kind–whereas Ash put up his front of being an asshole like it was de rigueur. I fell right into the Perfects' trap. I was distracted by Ash.

Just knowing that for _years _I was wrong . . .

I was somewhat pulled back into reality by Marceline shoving a plate of spaghetti into my lap. She sat down next to me, pulled out some silverware, and took a bite, resting the fork back onto the plate. What? Did she make this?

I stared down at it. "What's this?"

Her mouth was full as she rolled her eyes. When she swallowed, she said. "Food."

"I'm not–"

"You have to eat, Marshall."

I thought about that. Yeah, I hadn't really eaten since those strawberries. And I hadn't moved since I sat down at the beach. My stomach growled lowly, so I took that as confirmation that I was hungry. Which was strange since I hand't felt any hunger pangs.

Begrudgingly, I picked up the fork and lifted the food to my mouth. _Spaghetti. _My mom used to make spaghetti all the time. When we had our little ritual of watching _The Breakfast Club_, she'd promise to make spaghetti that night. It was the best. I wondered what she'd say to me if she saw me eating with a girl on a beach. Or what she would have said. I started to get angry at the idea, so I started eating again. I wolfed down the food faster than I thought I would, not a word coming out of Marceline or I, which I was grateful for. After our emotionally draining conversation, I didn't want to have another one. Her presence was all I needed. She soothed me. For example, the fact that she just kept glancing in my direction and giggling made me temporarily feel enlightened.

She suddenly handed me some strawberry flavored lip balm. "Here."

"What?" I asked, taking it from her hands.

"Your lips are chapped. You need to moisturize . . . Or whatever."

I looked over at her. "Marceline, my lips aren't a Doctor Who meme."

"Whatever! Just put it on!"

"Very well, my dear. Your command is my wish . . . Wait, no, that's not how it goes . . ."

She pushed me and laughed and it was just too contagious. See, Marceline just had this effect on people that always gave them a positive hope. It was like breathing; you rarely even acknowledge it's happening because it's so natural.

Once I had successfully applied her chapstick, I puckered my lips. "How do I look?"

She rolled her eyes again. "Fabulous," she droned.

I grinned at her, my mood having done a complete 180 degree turn. Her eyes turned wary, like she didn't trust my impish look. I leaned forward. "Hmm, Marcy. Looks like your lips are a little dry . . ."

"Oh hell no, Marsh–"

"I think you might need some chapstick . . ." I suggested.

She held up a finger. "If you try to put that on me, I will sucker punch you so hard."

"That is a risk I am willing to take."

And with that, I lurched forward, lip balm in hand and tried to smear it across her face as much as possible. She squealed and leaned backwards.

"Marshall!" she yelled, interrupted by her own giggle.

"You look so pretty!" I teased.

I managed to get most of her face covered in lip balm, and probably would have done more, if it weren't for my uncontrollable laughter. I collapsed next to her, laughing harder when I saw her face, all shiny and playfully upset.

"Marshall Lee, you are so dead!"

That was the only warning I got before she climbed on top of me and started hitting me. I still couldn't stop laughing at her.

"Hey!" I said, "This is an abusive relationship!"

She smirked. "This is _war!_"

She raised her hand to punch my arm when I held up my hands. "Whoa, hey, hold up now." It was hard to keep a straight face when I looked at her. "Truce?"

Pretending to be hindered and disappointed, she sighed. "I suppose." One last time, she slapped me lightly. "Truce."

I grinned at her as she rolled off me to lay down next to me.

"But to be fair," she said. "If this were a real war, I would have crushed you."

I shook my head. "Sure you would, Queen."

She shrugged. "It's in the title, isn't it?"

I turned to look over at her. She was trying to wipe all of the chapstick off her face with the sleeve of Lady's jacket, pouting when she saw how little came off. I smiled. Even with all this stuff on her face, she still somehow looked everlastingly beautiful. And how the hell did she manage to pull me out of my vortex of self pity while she dealt with her own demons? Marceline Raelene Abadeer, the Vampire Queen . . . she must have been a miracle worker. A blessing, really. I mean, come on. How could a guy like me ever deserve to even know someone as virtuous, wholesome, _good_ as her?

Looking at her, I realized that of all the memories that I wanted to bury under a pile of daydreams, this was one I was going to place on a pedestal.

* * *

When the sun began to set, Marceline told our friends to get out of the water and dry themselves off. She had whispered something to Lady, who nodded enthusiastically and in turn told Fionna something else. Then Marceline pulled me away from the group of us and tugged me down the length of the beach, not letting go of me until we nearly reached some place around a rock formation near the end. I hadn't seen any students down near this area. It wasn't necessarily secluded from the rest of the beach, but it was separated enough to not really be noticed. And inside this little cove was . . . a fire pit?

Yep. There was a wide makeshift fire pit that seemed to have not been used in a while. The old logs of wood in the center were damp, meaning that they had to have suffered through a few rainy seasons untouched. But the scorch marks on the interior of the pit and the ash that sat in the middle and even in the sand told me that this fire pit had been used many, many times before. There were already seats around the pit, five in total, all in different colors (rainbow, mint green, various shades of blue, red and black, and pink). Though the last one, the pink one, looked like it was the most used _previously_, it was folded and laid on the ground. In a corner of the cove, protected from weather by another rock formation, was a pretty big pile of firewood, newspaper, cardboard, and gasoline.

There was also something different about this cove. The sand felt more fine and smooth, the waves less intense and crashing. Maybe it was the way all of the chairs were positioned to face the sunset, or maybe the way that the area was surprisingly free of trash (kinda strange, given that it seemed like a party zone). I wasn't sure, but something made me feel like I was stepping across the definition of serendipity, if that even made sense.

Yet, at the same time, there was this aura . . . like I was in a place that had a recently beaten-down NO TRESPASSING sign.

Marceline sighed, pulling Cake's ribbons out of her hair and letting it loose. She treaded over to the red and black chair, but didn't sit down. Instead, she looked back at me and smiled softly. She patted the seat.

"Sit."

I ducked my head and made my way over. Something about it was humbling.

When I sat down, I inhaled and exhaled slowly. This chair was Marceline's; that was pretty obvious. So where I was sitting, this specific spot, is where she and her friends must have sat for _years. _I was seeing things exactly from her point of view, as she saw it for ages. What was that book quote? From Atticus Finch?_ "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." _Well, here I was, in the spot she had been in so many times before.

If I looked to my left, the pink chair was neatly placed on the ground. That would have been Bonnie. If I looked to my right, the blue, green, and rainbow chairs were tilted in the slightest to the chair I was in. They would have been Fionna, Cake, and Lady, wouldn't they? Looking to Marceline, because she's almost like their leader. If I looked forward, the brilliant sunset would light up the world. This is precisely what Marceline saw . . . and it was surreal.

She stood behind me and draped her arms over my chest, resting her chin on my head.

"There's so much more to everything, Marsh . . ."

I tried to soak in her words, but it was astonishingly difficult for my brain to function at the moment.

Before I could even get everything through my head, the soft thuds of feet against the sand stopped me. I instantly knew that our six other friends would round the corner of the rocky wall any second now. Lordo made it to us first, without breaking a sweat, it seemed. His lips parted when he saw us, and even stopped Lady from coming further for a moment. Then Fionna yelled at them for holding everyone up and he moved forward, the others following behind him. It was almost funny. The started in a single file line, then spread out as fast as possible, like a highly contagious disease infecting the biosphere.

On second thought, it may not be the best idea to compare my friends to a disease.

Each of them aside from Jake held skewers in their hands. Jake, however, had several bags of marshmallows. I chuckled to myself. Of course Jake would have the marshmallows.

He stepped forward and held up the bags. "You guys ready to have some actual fun?"

* * *

The seating arrangements confused me, but I wasn't really one to judge.

In short, all of the girls had let us guys take their seats. Finn seemed especially confused and insisted Fionna take her seat, but she kept declining. It was like watching a battle of "Who is the most polite"? The girls instead handled themselves and got comfortable wherever they desired. Fionna sat in the sand by Finn's feet, Lady sat on the pile of rocks around the fire pit (I was seriously worried that her hair was going to catch on fire), and Cake just sat down on Lordo's lap like it was totally normal. Which could be. Marceline stayed standing behind me until she grew tired and sat on the arm of her (my?) chair. No one touched the pink chair.

When I was little, my mom used to roast marshmallows with me all the time in our backyard. She told me she even met my dad at a bonfire and would tell me stories about that night. When I got to the age in which we start asking questions like "where's Dad" or "why don't I ever see Dad," she stopped telling stories and started telling tall tales. "He's just taking a break from life, is all, sweetie," or, "He is just a very busy man." Then the tales stopped shortly after. The bonfires stopped, too.

Doing this with my friends felt like a fresh start. A better start.

Finn held his skewer with a half-burnt marshmallow up to my face. "Marshmallowy."

"What?" I asked as I laughed.

Cake nodded. "No, yeah, I get it."

"Wait, _what?_" I asked again, more serious.

"Yeah, marshmallowy," Jake agreed.

"What the fuck is going on?" I asked. Marshmallowy?

Everyone went on and on about "Marshmallowy," agreeing and laughing to one another.

Marceline let out a half-surpressed chuckle. She poked me. "_You,_ Marsh. Marshall Lee, Marshmallowy . . . get it?"

"It even looks like him!" Lady exclaimed.

I stared incredulously at the marshmallow. How the hell did they . . ?

"Pale, black hair, gooey on the inside . . . Yeah, that sounds like Marshall to me," Lordo said.

"_Totally _Marshall Lee right there. Marshmallowy," said Fionna, grinning.

Oh, Glob . . . my friends are the best, most imaginative idiots in Aaa, aren't they?

Marceline took Finn's skewer with the marshmallow that apparently looked like me (and had a name similar to mine now) and raised it. "Long live Marshmallowy!"

They all cheered after her, raising their skewers and repeating her words over and over. Marceline laughed sweetly and looked at me, winking and smirking before going back to cheering.

Yeah, my friends are idiots. But, Glob, do I love them.

* * *

Death of A Bachelor (the album) is sooooooo good I just wanna bathe in the lyrics (even though I still think Ryan was the better lyricist) Brendon outdid himself, like damn, Beebo, where the hell did this come from

I got that Marshmallowy bit from "The Genius and the Delinquents" by kyla123 so go read that right now she was the inspiration for this fic even though I read that when I was like 15 and barely remember it go rEAD IT

Hey, quick question. I am a member of _many _fandoms, and I was just wondering iF ANYONE ELSE'S FANDOMS LOST THEIR CHILL IN 2015 AND ARE CONTINUING TO LOSE THEIR CHILL BY LOSING THEIR SHIT LIKE DAMN WTF IS HAPPENING TO ALL OF MY FANDOMS WHY ARE THEY BLOWING UP ALL AT ONCE? ? ? ? ? ! ? ! ? ! ! ? ? ! ? ! ! ! ! ? ? ! ?

please. i want to know i'm not alone.

hijackforever- Hey, I'm always a fan of awesome usernames! Good on you

NovaCora- I love your name, too. Ugh. So many good names. Honey, I have that urge all of the time. Like, really, all of the time I want to hit them in a head with a brick. Don't worry, we can hit them together.

HAPPY THOUGHT:

after a lifetime of shouldering other people's problems  
know that that is a good thing  
but self-care is a good thing too  
and there is a peace in balance


	15. Vexation & Endearment Part II

Whooo chapter fifteen yay achievement unlocked: jasmine has wasted her time writing only fifteen chapters of this fanfic

You see, most eighteen year olds would be out having fun and partying on a Friday night. Me, I'm a special breed. I sit at home writing and watching French cartoons (omfg the show I've been watching is called Miraculous Ladybug and I am _so_ into it holy crap my son is going to be raised on this show). But it's also super rainy outside and I'm on my period and I don't want to talk to my fam damnily about my son's birthday and I've been listening to Mayday Parade all day. So this came along.

Disclaimer: Pen Ward owns everything, including my sorry ass because I'm fandom tRASH. Also I reference Panic! At the Disco, Silversun Pickups, Star Wars, and the Mona Lisa (does that need to be in a disclaimer? Who knows. Maybe I'm going to steal it from the Louvre tomorrow and I'll own it and not need a disclaimer).

Notice: I wrote this at like nine in the afternoon so it's not very quality

* * *

**_Marceline's POV_**

"If you guys call me Marshmallowy one more time, I'm throwing myself into the Phlegethon."

I bit my lip and looked at Marshall, trying to stifle a giggle. He was so adamant about this Marshmallowy thing. Granted, I probably wouldn't like it either, but he was shitting himself to eliminate this nickname. Which meant that our friends were hell bent on making it stick. I was practically watching the history of our friendship in the making.

Everyone was silent for six counts, Marshall daring them to say the word that would send him into a vortex of anger. Then Lordo so much as struck Marshall across the face in front of his mother.

"Marshmallowy."

"That's it!"

Marshall stood up and marched straight towards the fire pit. My heart stopped for a moment. I knew he was joking around, but that didn't stop the panic that came. I don't even think I had protested with the others and yelled at him to sit down.

A round of "MARSHALL, NO!"s arose from them.

"Marshall, YES!" he countered, leaning near the edge of the pit, a smirk tugging the corner of his mouth.

"Marshall, no," I said, my tone flat, like that of a parent telling their child not to eat candy.

He paused. "Marshall, maybe."

After a short moment, he huffed and put his hands on his hips. I felt my blank look changing to an affectionate one unwillingly and allowed myself to smile at him. He looked utterly adorable when peeved.

Fionna stood up next to him. She hooked an arm around his neck. "Marshall, maybe?"

His shoulders sagged. "Marshall, no." When she poked his cheek playfully, he grinned suddenly, his mood lifted, and put an arm around her waist.

When he started to tell some cheesy joke about Fionna being a good girl, I felt my phone vibrate in my jacket pocket. I would've ignored it, but it happened again. I pulled it out to see that the caller ID was . . . Dad. How appropriate.

I looked up at my friends and bit my lip. Then I stepped away from my friends as discreetly as possible, careful not to trip over Bonnie's stupid old chair. I made my way over to the place where we kept the extra firewood, where it was dark and the slightest bit clandestine. More secluded and private. I shut my eyes, paced about, inhaled and exhaled, inhaled and exhaled . . . _It's okay. You got this. You have _got _this, _I told myself.

"You've got this . . ."

I pressed the green button that could be a death sentence for me.

Before I had a chance to say hello, Dad said, "Marceline! I wasn't sure if you'd answer."

_You got this._

"Of course," I said.

"Has your stay been adequate?"

I winced. That was such a typical thing for him to ask. It was never a _how are you _or _what's been going on with you_. It was always the things that concerned him. And even when he didn't ask those questions and tried to ask me how I've been doing it was always regarding my grades or my money or my lack of interest in the family businesses. It . . . Made me sad. Though I was happy he at least wished to speak with me. In a way. I guess.

"Thus far," I replied.

He responded far too quickly for my tastes. "Good, good. Listen, I'm at the front gate. It appears Pelagius has changed his security since I was last here."

My face scrunched up. "Dad, you haven't been here since–"

"Marceline!" he cut off sharply. "I'm well aware of how long its been." I could barely hear him mutter the words "foolish child." Then he said, "Just do your duty to me and come open the gate. Bring that friend of yours, too, the one with the pink hair."

I clenched my jaw briefly. "Bonnie?" I asked. I was going to point out the fact that she doesn't have pink hair (she's certain it's strawberry blonde), but decided against it. But why was he asking for her in the first place? He despised her for standing up to him, even forbidding me from seeing her sometimes, though that never lasted or worked.

"No, no, not _that _aristocratic courtesan," he stated. "She's too spirited. She couldn't be worth the detritus the proletariats live under to me."

My jaw dropped and I stared at my phone. I grit my teeth, fully prepared to lash out at him for extremely offending me on multiple levels. Such an acute asshole, my father was. We clashed a lot, but there was a manifested equilibrium between us that he just threw of balance. There was a clearly defined line and he crossed it.

I opened my mouth, but he beat me to the punch. "Sweetie, if I wanted to speak to her, I would. However, I don't. Like I said, too spirited, too vivacious, so impertinent to others."

I growled lowly. _No, _I thought, _only to you. _

"I was referring to the other one. The boy, what was his name? Boobie Gamble?"

"Bubba Gumball!" I yelled, almost worried my friends would hear me. Then I stopped. How did he know who Bubba was? Why did he think he was my friend?

My father was dismissive. "Yes, that one. Bring him with you when you _come and unlock the gate for me._"

I sighed. "Yes, Father."

"Good. Be swift, dear girl."

I huffed a hair out of my face. This was just great.

* * *

The look on Bubba's face when I knocked on his friends' house/cabin door was absolutely priceless. Shock, confusion, glee–all of it. He had at first seemed upset, but that transitioned to nonchalant coolness once he looked me up and down. He sputtered a bit, tried to fix his hair, and leaned against the doorway casually, though his elbow did slip and he fell.

He was adorable.

"Always nice to see you, Marceline," he said once he regained his balance.

I smiled at him. "Hey, Bubba. Sorry for interrupting . . ." I peeked into the house to see Aiden and Elliot huddled around Leon as said boy gaped at his phone and asked what a text LSP sent him had met. "Whatever it is you guys are doing in there."

He looked over his shoulder, then back at me. "It's no problem. They're trying to decode Lily's texts, and I am the worst when it comes to girls."

"I bet," I said. I wasn't lying, too. Bubba was awkward as hell.

"So what brings you here?" he asked, clearing his throat. "Perfects and Vampire Knights aren't exactly on good terms right now, you know."

I nearly coughed up my lungs. He called me a Vampire Knight . . . _A Vampire Knight. _No one had called any of my girls that yet. We never even had a title before. Sure, I was the Vampire Queen, but all of us together . . . we weren't ever anything. I always thought we were just "associates of the Vampire Knights." But to everyone else . . . they considered us actual Vampire Knights. I was . . . I was one of them.

Surreal.

That made my heart light up and, even though I knew it wasn't really the appropriate time, I flashed another smile, the most dazzling one I could muster. The smile of a girl who was warm with the knowledge of her friends' acceptance of her. Had I ever burned this bright before?

Bubba's neutral face faded into something more while he looked at me. There was this sort of sparkle in his eyes that maybe only Marshall had ever shown me before. I could only describe it as starstruck.

I looked down at my shoes, letting my smile drop. "I know we've got issues right now, but that's just between your harlots and I, not you and I. Right?"

"Right. Of course."

"So," I said, glancing back up at him, "do you want the long version or the short?"

He shrugged. "Short is fine."

"Basically my father called while I was hanging out with my friends and told me I had to go open the front gate for him, then said he wanted me to bring you, too. But the thing is I had to convince my friends to let me go, which took for ever, and I was wearing _kinda _provocative clothing when he called, so I had to run back to my room to change, which took up a lot of time. So, I'm sorry I'm knocking a little late."

His brow furrowed. "It's fine you're here late. I'm, ah . . . A little concerned, though. Your father, Hudson Abadeer–the Hudson Abadeer–wishes to see _me?_ I was unaware he knew of my existence. I may have seen him in person _one _time before, at one of Ashley's dad's big parties. You know how Lich Kinge likes those."

I laughed. My father and Lich Kinge had the strangest love-hate relationship. The perfect embodiment of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Lich invited my dad to all of his parties, and Dad always had some story to tell afterwards. Momma told me when I was very little that the two of them would do this constantly when they were younger, too.

"Look, I don't know what he wants either, so we're both in the dark here, don't worry," I said.

He nodded. "Let me go grab my shoes and we can go."

* * *

"That's an intriguing one," Bubba said as we passed by a rather interesting rendition of the Mona Lisa.

I chuckled. He had been making comments about my grandmother's work since we got in the house. My grandfather never really got over her death, or so I was told. I never met her. He became . . . Detached, as my mother put it. And I could see it now, too. The way you can never read him and such. He even whispers, "Anastasia," every once in a while to himself while walking around the mansion. And he never got rid of her artwork; she loved painting. Maybe this was an explanation for his unusual behavior.

Though this reaction to loss is probably one of the most unhealthy, he'd flip out whenever someone would try to snap him out of it, one time so bad he was admitted into a mental institution. Anytime someone brought her up he'd go berserk, then manic. _Very _manic. No in between, either, so they were forced to keep him in a straitjacket. He even got so intense he managed to escape it and attack some of the staff. Talk about _issues._ As one can see, no one brings up Grandmother, and _no one _takes down her paintings.

In a way, their wives deaths were the only thing Dad had in common with my grandfather.

"It's a good one, though," I said.

Bubba cocked his head as he examined it. "Kinda looks like a gay beached whale."

"You fucking Philistine," I exclaimed, slowly turning to look at him. I laughed lightly. "My grandmother is the only one who can combine Andy Warhol and the Renaissance Virgin Mary, AKA: Lisa Gherardini." I gestured to the piece. "I wrote a song about my parents based on this painting, you know. _The Ballad of Mona Lisa _ring any bells?"

He smiled at me. "One or two." He shrugged as we started moving again. "I still don't get art."

"Fucking Philistine," I repeated under my breath.

* * *

As the gate rattled open, I crossed my arms. This was going to be quite an experience.

"Should I be scared?" Bubba asked. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"Very," I stated, not taking my eyes off my father's car.

We waited for him to drive all the way up, park, and grab his bags. I wasn't surprised he didn't bring a chauffeur. He liked to do things himself, as strange as it seemed given his personality. But, hey, Dad liked to suck the soul out of everyone, so . . .

He held his arms out to me eventually. I took a deep breath and walked over to him, Bubba following closely behind me, every step feeling like walking across the shattered glass of a broken window. My mind was screaming, my limbs resisting, my skin feeling like a million bees were trapped underneath trying to break free.

Dad's hug was stiff, protocol almost. Like he didn't understand human nature and read a manual on how to give hugs instead of going outside and learning himself. He even tried to pull down my hood, much to my dismay. Pulling away was even more strange than hugging. It was just saliva dripping to the ground, lasting far too long and being everlastingly discombobulating. I hated it. To me, my dad and I weren't ever necessarily perceived as natural when we showed insincere affection.

I curved my thumbs around my dark jeans. "Dad."

Dad bowed slightly. He turned straight to Bubba and extended his hand. "Hudson Abadeer."

Bubba accepted his hand and shook it. "I'm Bubba Gumball. It's most satisfying to finally get the chance to meet you."

For some reason, Bubba seemed off. Almost like he wasn't even there.

"Likewise, son," said Dad, smiling that wolfish smile of his. He picked up his luggage and bowed his head again. "Shall we enter?"

I led us back into the mansion, my mind going into excessive overdrive. I wasn't okay. I was _not _okay. I tried to think of something to calm me down, but my thoughts had flatlined. I tried to level my breathing, but already felt myself beginning to breath short gasps in and out. Everything suddenly felt hot and I was growing more lightheaded. I told myself everything was fine, that I was fine, but it wasn't working, _it wasn't working. _I needed to think of something less sporadic to get myself under control. What was something that was constant?

I looked around and saw my grandfather staring down at us, his eyes glassy and hazy. He disappeared and walked away. _Not a constant. _I glared at the front room, paintings and portraits and photos lining the walls, never predictable. _Not a constant. _I reached back down into the deepest recesses of my heavily integrated brain and thought. What had been with me all day long today? What could I cling to? What could decompress my self-inflicted duress?

The realization made my breathing stop laboring, my eyes stop watering, my head stop spinning, if only for the briefest moment.

_Marshall Lee. _

"How long are you going to be here, Mr. Abadeer?" Bubba asked.

_Oh, Marshall Lee. Constant Marshall Lee. Marshall Lee with _Panic Switch.

"Oh, not long. However long I'm needed."

I sent as many serene thoughts of him my way. _Marshall always thinks you're going to be okay. Marshall always wants to make you laugh. Marshall always makes you feel safe. Marshall knows you're going to be okay. Marshall does everything he can to make you laugh. Marshall is your safe haven._

"Needed?"

My eyes glazed over briefly, and then it was gone. The tightness in my chest remained and my heart rate was off the charts, but it was gone. The panic was gone. I had suppressed my anxiety faster than ever before with thoughts of Marshall. How the hell did I do that?!

I saw Marshall and Jake emerging from the kitchen just then. I smiled at them, relieved. Their presence calmed me further. How serendipitous. They nodded at me happily and beamed back, then mouthed that they were going to be right back.

"Well, for you, of course."

I finally focused my attention back on Dad and Bubba, who my back was to so that they didn't see my mini freak out. What had Dad said? He was needed here for Bubba?

"What's going on with Bubba now?" I asked, my voice unstable and strained, like I had suffered from hiccups for years.

Dad made a gesture between the two of us, lingering on Bubba. "I wish to evaluate him."

"_Evaluate him?_"

"_Evaluate me?_"

Dad folded his hands together. "Yes, you heard correct. Marceline, it won't be long before I expect you to take the reins in our family businesses, but I know very well that it feels impossible to do alone. I received a tip from your school principal, the one I'm not fond of, that you two had an altercation once before. I must say, disagreement is surprisingly and incredibly vital to have in a relationship."

My jaw dropped. He did not just say that. No. Just no. _Dad. _And Simon? There was no way in hell that Simon told him that. He and Simon despised each other. Simon loved me like his own kin, and take knew that he took care of me better than Dad ever could. They always clashed. Simon _never _spoke to him. _Dad's lying, _I thought. He had to be. And to think we're dating? Or should be? Ridiculous! How did he glean from an argument that we would be a good couple? My father was more delusional than I thought.

"Oh, M-Mr. Abadeer, sir . . ." Bubba stammered, blinking rapidly as his face ignited. "We, um, w-we aren't . . . We aren't together."

"Yes!" I agreed instantly. "He's right. We are not. No way. Ever. Never were, never will be. So, you can . . . erase that thought. Wrong thought."

Dad was unfazed. Behind him, I saw Marshall and Jake coming out of the kitchen again, laughing about something together. I tried to think of a better way out of my situation.

"And why aren't you romantic?" Dad asked, his eyes challenging. "I was under the impression you were interested in each other."

"Because . . ." I started. I looked back at Marshall and Jake grinning, then over at a flabbergasted Bubba, then back at the boys. I couldn't believe I was doing this. I smiled up at my father. "Because I already have a boyfriend."

I called Marshall's name, marching over to him praying to Glob that he would play his part and follow my mental script. Knowing Marshall, it could go either way. He reached out and held my forearms to greet me, but I leaned up to whisper in his ear, widening my eyes at Jake.

"Please just play along and do not question what happens next," I said, squeezing my eyes shut.

He nodded once.

I pulled away and pretended to laugh at something he said, keeping one arm around his neck, the other playing with the collar of his shirt. His face did not seem to be acting when he smiled and placed his hands on my waist and hips.

"Tell me when they start walking over, okay?" I instructed. "Blink twice."

He nodded again. For a few seconds he just pretended to look at me lovingly. Then suddenly, two quick blinks. I exhaled. _I am officially out of my mind_, I thought, _but at least it can be my form of payback. _

I batted my eyelashes at him, then smiled flirtatiously. It looked like he was trying not to laugh. I rolled my eyes. Then, before I could change my mind, I closed my eyes and pulled him by the base of his neck down to my lips. I heard Jake's empty red solo cup clatter to the floor.

The kiss was short and fleeting, and nothing at all like our first kiss, which was more heated and fervent. And Marshall was stiff, less confident. Caught off-guard. For once he was unsure. Passive, even. And so I kissed him harder; I had to get him to react, otherwise it wouldn't be believable. We _had _to look like a couple. And _finally _he responded, pressing one hand against the small of my back and even smirking in that way he does.

I sighed into a breathy laugh. He was gaining that vexatious and endearing confidence again. _That's my Marshall, _I thought. And suddenly, kissing him wasn't an obligation, a goal that I had to reach in order to convince my father. Suddenly, I didn't need a reason. Suddenly, kissing him simply felt _good._ It was the feeling I got from the first kiss all over again.

I could hear my father's footsteps approaching and gripped his shirt tighter, trying to make it last longer, for both my dad and for myself.

We pulled away at the same time, and I don't think the look of shock on his face will ever leave me. The satisfaction I felt at seeing him in such a dumbfounded state was even sweeter. His eyes were wide, unbelieving, and gorgeously kaleidoscopic in monochrome red, his hair disheveled, worser that usual, and his parted lips smattered with my lip balm. No, Glob forbid this sight ever leave me anytime soon.

I smirked at him. "Payback," I whispered, winking at him.

He straightened his back and ran a hand through his hair. Remembering my father was near, I turned around to face him as Marshall put an arm around my shoulders, trying to stay in character despite his astonished state.

"This is your boyfriend, then, Marceline?" Dad asked, his tone unimpressed.

I looked at the ground smiling, waiting for Marshall respond, per the custom. When a response never came, I elbowed him subtly.

"Oh! Yes, I'm, um, I'm Marceline's boyfriend," he answered, his voice cracking. "We're a thing, we're a couple, we, uh, make up an item. We go to halloween parties in matching costumes and share food and wear the same color underwear–" I smacked him again, and he took the hint. He offered my dad his hand. "Marshall Lee Pierce. Nice to meet you."

Dad rejected his handshake coldly. He did a once over of Marshall. "How suitably . . . underwhelming. Nevertheless, thank you for taking an interest in my daughter, though I do find her lack in taste disturbing."

Marshall laughed nervously. "Well, at least she's got taste buds, right?"

"Please stop talking," I told him, a laugh in my voice.

"But you hit me when I don't talk!" he protested playfully.

Dad's face remained stoic and unamused. He lightly glared at me and looked at Marshall like he was planning homicide. He straightened his tie. "I shall see myself to my room. But know that the three of us will be meeting at a later juncture so that I may properly evaluate you two. Have a good night."

That was just like Dad. Run when overwhelmed. But he was a problem I could deal with later.

I waited for Dad to pick up his bags and ascend the stairs until I heard his room door shut. I turned on my heel to face Marshall, biting my lip to prevent my smile from exploding. I jumped into his arms, hugging him like there was no tomorrow. I had several doubts he'd react a different way to my plan, but he followed through just like I hoped he would. I knew that if there wasn't a more obvious display of a relationship, my father would try to convince me it's "not true love" or some bullshit. The kiss was necessary and I was so glad it went as smooth as it did.

"Easy there, Marcy," he said, holding me by my shoulders.

I let out a breath. "I'm just so glad you were there when you were."

"Hey, I'm always happy to be of service." He grinned. "And by the way? That guy is a straight-up dick."

I almost giggled, but was stopped when I heard a sniff next to us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bubba walking away from us, covering his eyes. I called his name, but he waved his hand and shook his head, walking off down the hallway. I frowned. He couldn't have been upset over that whole kissing scene, could he?

"Dang. I almost feel bad for that guy," said Jake, his eyes wide. "His crush just got crushed." Then he smirked at us. "And you guys have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

My boyfriend just texted me in binary code what the actual fuck

Update: it said "sie sind das essen und wir sind die jäger" omfg this is the nerd I'm dating

For anyone wondering, Marceline's family is kind of like the personifications of Melanie Martinez's songs ;) And, yes, Jake is going to be present for every Marcelee kiss (sarcasm)

Rainbowlopez- Aww, that's great to know. Thanks, sweetie :)

Guest- UHM, EXCUSE YOU, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO DREAM JFC WHY DID YOU HAVE TO HURT ME THIS WAY IS2FG HOW DARE YOU DO YOU HEAR THAT THAT'S THE SOUND OF MY EMO SOBS lmao, yeah, I'm v aware they split up (I was only like fifteen and my brother was going to take me to a concert later that year on my birthday but tHAT NEVER HAPPENED omfg cry). But I wanted My Calculus Romance to be set around 2012-ish, so our sweet Vampire Knights have yet to get their souls crushed in 2013. OMG MAYBE I SHOULD WRITE THEIR REACTIONS TO THE BREAK UP. You just gave me an idea. So thanks for turning my little emo heart into mcr by breaking it into tiny pieces

NovaCora- I love pretty names! Yes, I'm very part of the MCU and LOTR fandoms, thanks to one of my amazing older brothers as we grew up. Which never cease to stab me in my feelings. What's your opinion on the current state of our fandoms?

HAPPY THOUGHT:

let your sympathy go  
they don't deserve it after what they did to you  
you can make yourself the priority now  
i give you permission.


	16. The Infamous Moment

Wow, almost five months. I'm sorry. I just wasn't okay.

* * *

_**Marshall Lee's POV**_

"Explain," Jake said giddily. He was grinning like he'd just discovered some dark secret. Hell, maybe he had. Because what. The shit. Just happened?

Pointedly, Jake stared at me. That made sense. He knew how much I cared for Marceline. Plus, didn't he and the Vampire Knight, like, 'ship' us or something?

"Hey, man," I said, "my guess is as good as yours." I pointed to Marceline, who was biting her thumb nail and pacing back and forth. "Ask the Queen."

Jake looked at her.

Said girl glanced up, eyes wide. "Um . . ."

"I KNEW IT," Jake stated. "I KNEW IT! YOU LIKE MARSHALL. I. FUCKING. CALLED IT."

"Jake, wait—"

"MAJA TOLD ME I WAS WRONG BUT I _KNEW."_

"No, Jake—"

"I AM A FUCKING GENIUS."

"Jake, no. NO—"

"AM I GOB? I THINK I'M GOB. IT'S THE SECOND COMING OF GOB, BOW DOWN BEFORE ME, MOTHERFUCKERS!"

I slapped my hand over his mouth before he could embarrass us more. "Glob, man," I muttered. "What is wrong with you?"

Jake pushed my arm aside, looking smug. He pointed at Marceline. "She's not denying it!"

"Yes! Yes, she is! She's been _trying to_ since you started screaming like it's Globdamn Armageddon!"

"Will both of you just _shut up?!_"

Marceline stood between the two of us, her face flushed. Was that from anger or from embarrassment?

She gained her composure like a well-trained princess. "Just let me explain, without interruption." She glared at Jake, who shrugged unapologetically. "My father believes that it's time to start searching for a . . . Mate, I guess? Supposedly to help me run our businesses."

My eyes bulged from their sockets. He _what?_ That was ridiculous! She wasn't even legally allowed to marry! And since when was it _his_ decision to marry his daughter off? Or tell her she can't do it without a man? What the hell is this guy's problem? God complex?!

"A-anyways," Marceline continued, "he figured that I really had something with Bubba." I could hear the sarcasm oozing from her voice. "And thought that it was 'time' or something like that."

I'm sorry, _Bubba?_ What the actual fuck?!

"But I sort of, kinda, really do not want to be engaged to Bubba. I mean, he's a sweet boy, but I don't even know him like that and—" She sighed. I was concerned. That meant she was actually _considering _Bubba to be a possible partner in the first place. "I didn't want to be in that situation. So, I figured the only way to get out of it was to tell Dad that I already had a boyfriend. And I saw Marsh and I had to make it seem realistic since Dad is a literal freak and notices everything and if even a hair was out of place he would've caught on. So . . ."

"So you kissed him," Jake interrupted. He chuckled. "Damn. That's something straight out of a fanfiction."

Marceline rolled her eyes, poking his nose with her finger. "You are the peanut gallery and I am not interested in you right now."

"You're right, you're actually interested in Marshy. This is the second kiss I've witnesses, guys, you gotta understand my position here."

"Jake, you worthless dildo, I am warning you . . ."

I let out an exasperated breath. He was a stubborn asshole; he was never going to let this go. Plus I had no doubt he was going to go straight to Finn and tell him. Then Finn would tell Lordo and Lordo would tell Cake and Cake would tell Fionna and it would be one huge mess of relentless teasing and innuendos. It was at this point that I was strongly reconsidering my friendships with these losers.

For a brief moment, I tried to evaluate Marceline's face. She looked . . . What was that expression? Not regretful, not disappointed . . . Just . . . Something . . .

"Okay, fine, I'll stop," he concurred. His expression turned somber scarily fast. "I want you to understand the position _you're _in, though. You said your dad has some sixth sense, yeah? Well, this isn't _The Proposal._ Pretending to be a couple doesn't always work out, you know? I mean, you do realize that you'll have to keep this skit up for a while, right?"

He had a point. Glob, this trip just got even more dramatic. I regret ever wanting a break from school. I'd take hardcore calculus over this any day.

It wasn't that I had a problem with pretending to be Marcy's boyfriend. In fact, that sounded pretty appealing. It was just . . . We were already in deep shit. The Perfects already hated us. If they found out about us being a thing, we'd get attacked even more. Not to mention Ash and his band of dicks. Then there's Marceline's brain capacity. It was pretty easy to tell she's got issues, especially around Mr. Abadeer and Bonnie. Her heart wouldn't be able to take the aftereffects of all this. Plus Mr. Abadeer would most likely be stalking us 24/7. Throw in everyday drama that we somehow always manage to get wrapped up in and voilà! Screwed up lives.

Really thinking about it put it into perspective for me. By kissing me, Marceline messed up. She messed up bad. The extra stress, the extra paranoia, the extra everything was so _extra._ And I don't think she'd be able to grin and bear it without breaking her own heart.

Marceline covered her face with her hands. She was shaking. I touched her shoulder.

"Marceline?" I asked. "Hey, sweetheart, it's okay—"

"No, it's not."

I paused. "Well, maybe if we just—"

"Nothing is going to fix this. There is no way I am going to get out of this because I fucked _up_. I fucked everything up. And no matter what, this is going to be pointless because I will tell everyone I broke up with you and my dad will just force me into something else. And if I don't tell people I broke up with you, I'll have to marry you and I can't _do_ that to you. This is all just pointless and it is never going to get better. I have no way out. I never did have a way out. My entire future was over the minute Mom left me. I'm going to be subjected to my father's will and there is nothing I can do about it. I . . . I'm not ready for this."

Now this was the infamous moment. This was the moment that I realized that after years of torment, Marceline Abadeer had finally cracked. And this was also the moment that I realized I was bound to her. My vow to protect her morphed into one to stay by her side until I'd have been pried from her. Because I cared. And I cared way too much.

This was the moment I realized that if the day ever came; if I was ever asked to marry her, to devote my life to her, to care for her . . . I would say yes.

Jake snapped his fingers in front of my eyes to tear my gaze away from her. He gave me a look like _What the hell, why aren't you comforting her,_ then pulled her into a fierce hug. It looked like a piece of him was dying. I still stared into space.

Then, I walked away.

I wasn't sure why I left the two of them, especially when the most important girl in the world needed me the most. Maybe it was just my gut. Maybe it just was a need to recollect myself. Maybe it was just a sense of need. I didn't really know. All I knew was that it happened and I found myself lost somewhere between soft dreams and clouded thoughts.

Until white hair invaded my vision.

"Marshall!"

Ashley, flanked by Maja and Bonnie, was in my face before I could stop her. She wore a pout that looked less cute and more secretly-a-demon-esque and had this nighty on that would've given most people a nosebleed. Overall, she looked fake. The word didn't hold much merit, given that this was Ashley that we're talking about.

I kept my eyes glued to the floor and pursed my lips. Maybe if I wished hard enough, she'd go away. But she didn't, and neither did her two minions.

"Oh," I said, trying to keep my voice uninterested. After all, I could already feel the enervation settling in. "Hey, Ash."

"_Ashley_," she corrected with an eye roll. "And don't be rude, Marshy, say hello to my friends."

I sighed. Ashley was something else. I limply waved at Maja, who blushed and twinkled her fingers back like she had something gross on them. Bonnie and I made eye contact for a few seconds, and the energy around it was strange. I felt guilt in her and perhaps even myself felt a sense of understanding before she looked away.

I turned my attention back to the hollow shell of a person in front of me.

"Nice talking, but I have a life I have to get back to, so . . ."

"Wait."

Ashley grabbed my arm. Her grasp was soft and dulcet, pleading, almost. And I waited. How did she do that?

She exhaled shakily. "Bubba . . . Bubba told us that . . . Well . . ." Her face tinged red. "He told us that you and Marceline are . . ."

I blinked. Refused the urge to scoff. "Are . . ?"

"You're . . ." She impatiently stomped, then wet her throat. Her face pinched like she was disgusted. "You're dating."

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, not saying a word. There was a high chance that I'd say the wrong thing and ruin our lives even more.

"I-I mean, uh," she stammered, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. "It's totally fine if you are! You two kind of suit each other, actually. You know, you're the hot, troubled bad boy who is generally perfect and she's . . . Well, she's special too."

Out of the corner of my eye, Bonnie's hands curled into fists.

My jaw clenched. "Special, huh?"

"Yeah! She's quiet and reserved and totally ignorant to high fashion. I mean, the only reason why people like her is because she's rich. Her dad bought her _everything _when she was a kid, it doesn't surprise me he'd buy her a life too." She giggled. "You two have such a cute relationship trope. The embodiment of physical excellence and the drab grey that lingers in the background. I mean, you _would_ have such a cute trope . . . If you were dating. But I know Bubba was lying about that. He loves to tease us . . ."

I breathed out a chuckle. Ashley could be a real disease-ridden void sometimes, couldn't she?

"You're right, Ash." I looked her straight in the eyes and smiled cockily. "We do have a cute trope!"

Her face fell. The grip on my arm tightened into iron.

I patted her knuckles and she released me. "Have a good night, ladies."

* * *

When I got to Marceline's room, I needed to knock only once. Cake swung the door open, her eyes so alight I would've thought Finn pushed Ashley down a flight of stairs again. Without saying a word, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the room. Our friends, aside from Marcy and Jake, were sitting on the floor, surrounding Fionna's laptop.

"Word is spreading like a wildfire!" she said excitedly.

She sat me down next to Lordo, who fist bumped me and just said, "Dude. Just . . . Good for you."

"What?" I asked, puzzled.

Cake beamed from across from me. "Canon. Marcelee."

"_What?_"

Lady pushed the laptop into my lap. "Read this."

It was some website with /marcyxmarshy attached to the end of the url. I instantly knew I wanted nothing to do with whatever horrid crap was spewing on the screen.

I gave the laptop back. "No."

"But—"

"No."

"C'mon, Marsh—"

"Nope."

"Don't be like—"

"Not doing it."

Lady pouted. Yes, significantly cuter than Ashley. "You're no fun."

"Well, since you're being a stubborn asshole," Finn started, glowering at me—Was that in good humor or not? I couldn't tell—"I'll explain. An 'inside source', AKA: Bubba, as Summer told us, told Winter that you and Marceline are a thing. Sooooooooooo she published an article to the shipping blog."

I gaped at him.

"We're calling you guys Marcelee now."

"What is wrong with you people?" I asked incredulously.

He looked slightly hurt and offended. "Dude, it was an intense and vigorous conversation over your ship name—"

"Not that, Finn." I sighed. "I mean you've got this whole website and a blog devoted to us and—who the hell even came up with this?"

Fionna scoffed. "I did. That whole fuckin' website is mine."

"We've been following it for years," Lady added.

I buried my hands in my hair. "Oh my Glob, I'm in hell."

"What?" Lordo said. "We're just happy for you! To be honest, none of us thought you were ver going to make a serious move." He paused. "Well, aside from that other time you kissed her out of the blue."

"Hey," I pointed at him. "We promised to never talk about that again."

He raised his hands and looked away.

I wasn't sure whether I was thankful or terrified when Jake and Marceline entered the room, arms around each other. He sat her down next to me. Was that really a good idea? But then, after a brief moment as the air stilled, she took my hand, leaned against me, and intertwined our fingers.

Finn raised his phone to take a picture.

Fionna gasped. "Candid," she whispered.

There was a bright flash.

. . .

"Oh, this is _so_ going on the website."

* * *

Madison- Thank you! That's very sweet of you! It's pretty hard to keep their relationship from getting weird but I'm glad I'm doing a good job xo

Guest 1- Yes, poor Bubba. That will be referenced next chapter, hopefully ;) Thanks for the review!

NovaCora- Agreed, Civil War has left a pretty big skid on the fandom. Sometimes I felt like I was the only person who just wanted Bucky to be okay and for everyone to be happy. I mean, the people who took sides were pretty hardcore about it. I'm just glad it's over. That's pretty true regarding LOTR. The fandom has become a bit less active. They're still one of the funniest fandoms I've ever seen. Tbh I just rewatch the films every once in a while and cry on the inside. Because LOTR. Sherlockians are dying pretty much all the time imo. With good reason. It was very kind of you to check up on me. I really needed that. Love you

Guest 2- I actually wanted to do that in the last chapter! Don't worry, I'll find a way to slip it in somewhere. Thanks hon xoxo

Guest 3- Thank you for your patience, lovely anon

Guest 4- Sorry for the hiatus, kid :)

Guest 5- Whoaho, calm down, firecracker. Omfg are you okay? I hope you survived to read this xox

Guest 6- And I love you. Thanks for the review!

HAPPY THOUGHT:

it is not your fault  
you were not weak or stupid  
you have a big heart  
and I'm proud of you for it


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